Divine Intervention
by xXDesertRoseXx
Summary: At the beginning of New Moon, Edward leaves Bella to protect her from himself. But what if unkown to them all, protection wasn't what she nedeed the most? What if all she had to do was to remeber who she really was? Full summary inside.BxE
1. Author's Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer. However if she was willing to give me Edward I wouldn't object and I promise I would take very good care of him… No? Well at least I tried.

This is my second fanfic in general and my first one as far as Twilight is concerned. It takes place in New Moon, about two and something months after Edward left. It is not a typical; Edward leaves, Bella gets changed, story. Although Bella is not human in this fic, she is neither a vampire nor a werewolf nor a shifter. This is basically an idea that came to me while I was reading a book about ancient mythology… Well, I guess you will have to read and see. The pairings are still the same, but basically this is a story about Edward and Bella, so it is more BxE orientated. Almost all the story will be from Bella's point of view. Since this is my first fiction in first person, please tell me if some parts don't make sense grammatically and I will try to fix them. As always I hope you will enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it! (By the way, I really do love reviews!)


	2. Nightmares And Revelations

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**NIGHTMARES AND REVELATIONS****.**

I was once again staring at the ceiling. I knew Charlie was worried; I could hear him talking to the doctors downstairs, too afraid to let them come to my room. Afraid he would make things worse. How could he? Things can't get worse. They simply can't. 'Catatonic' I heard the doctors telling him. Maybe I am. Yet what else is left for me? _He_ is gone. Bored of me. Chasing his distractions. His words still echo in my head;

'_I don't love you.'_

Off course I knew this relationship never made sense. I mean, come on! He is perfect. An angel. And I am just a pathetic weak mortal. He said he thought himself to be a monster. I should agree with him after all that he said to me in that forest. I really should. I must hate him. I can't keep loving him, not after all this pain I've been through; the pain _he_ put me through. I must hate him if I want to keep sane. But love is not sanity. And most of all, love is not logic; you can't chose the one you fall in love with -I sure didn't.

I heard Charlie crying this morning; I was on my way to the bathroom and he was talking with Renee on the phone. He was asking her to come visit and try knocking some sense into me.

Sense! What could sense have to do with all this? It doesn't even make sense that I am still alive. I have met people that went on living without a beating heart. For a short but perfect period of time, I even hoped to become one of them. But my heart is missing. How comes I am still alive with no heart at all? All I can feel in my chest is this huge dark hole, sucking all my will for life in it.

I have to face it; I am dead inside. I died the day he left me. I had everything and I lost it. And I know -deep down I know- this wound will never heal. How could it heal? _Why_ would it heal? What would be the purpose?

I'm not even sure if I want it to. Because I know that healing would mean forgetting. And I don't want to forget about him. All I have left of him are my weak human memories. He saw to that. He said he wanted a clean break and that is exactly what he got. He left nothing of him behind for me.

No. Memories are all I have. Well, memories and nightmares. Lots of them; that's all I get when I actually manage to sleep. Dreams of him saying he doesn't love me. Dreams of him saying he never loved me. Dreams of him with his distractions, and for a reason still unknown to me, usually distractions with strawberry blonde hair.

And then I have those other dreams. And that is how I know I'm close to snapping. I get having dreams about him. I don't seem to be able to think about anything else but him since the moment we met. But those other dreams…

It is always the same. I find myself inside something that looks like a cave. There is no natural light coming from anywhere, just some dim light from torches on the cave's walls. And of course there are the voices. Two of them. No faces. Just those voices calling my name. Even now when I close my eyes I can hear them. One male and one female. Melodic voices, unlike anything I have ever heard before. And yet somehow they sound familiar. Almost painfully familiar. Like something I should remember, something dear to me that has long been forgotten. And every time I hear them, I feel like I want to remember. Like I _have_ to remember.

I sigh and close my eyes. Here they go again; just how crazy am I?

"_Bella"_

"_Bella"_

They are calling once more. I snap my eyes open as another voice reaches me; Charlie. He is crying again and he shouldn't be. My life is over. As dramatic as it sounds, I know it's the truth. But his isn't. Neither is Renee's. I have to make them see that. I can't let them do that to themselves. Good; now I have a task. Something to keep me from going completely insane. I should keep it simple; I pretend to get better and they actually get better.

I sigh and close my eyes once again, no longer interested on the ceiling. Almost immediately I start feeling drowsy. I guess when you have spent the last twenty hours without sleeping or eating you must get exhausted because staying in bed normally shouldn't be so tiring. Even if all the movements you make are up the stairs to the bathroom and back, every five hours or so. I can feel sleep taking over my senses and I silently pray to be spared from yet another of my nightmares about him. I feel pain enough when I'm awake. My last coherent thought before I fall asleep is that I at least have to try looking better for my parents' sake. They need me back. I know it. I can feel it.

I'm back in the cave now. It seems I got my wish; no nightmares today. I hear the voices again;

"Bella"

"Bella"

They are calling for me. That is strange; everything looks clearer and so un-dreamlike tonight. I mean, I can realize I am dreaming. If this was actually a dream I wouldn't realize until after I woke up, right?

"Bella"

"Bella"

The voices sound clearer now, like they are coming from right behind me. I turn around and I see them; the two most beautiful people I have ever seen. And, due to my past history, that is not an easy thing for me to say. I don't even think I can be objective about this topic; I'm too much in love with _him_ to judge other people's beauty fairly. Yet, here they stand;

The man is closer to me. He is tall, about 6'10", with ivory skin and mahogany hair, with some red in it. He is well built and strongly reminds me of statues of Greek gods. The impulsive comparison to another perfect existence pained me so much that I decided I should turn to the woman instead.

She looks as perfect as the man beside her. And oddly enough, she reminds me of… _me_. We have almost the same height, same nose and lips (only hers seem a bit darker and fuller). However her hair is longer and black while her body screams of perfection. Both of them looked in their mid twenties.

Their most amazing feature however was their eyes; they were gold, but not the vampire gold I was used to. They seemed to have various shades of the said color in them. Just a bit darker near the pupils and then lighter on the outside. And around that lighter golden shade, there was a ring of darker shade closer to brown. All and all, to say that their eyes were mesmerizing would be an understatement. And on top of it all they seemed to be surrounded by white and gold aura, almost like their skin was radiating in the darkness of the cave.

I looked at them again and felt ashamed I ever dared to compare myself to them. How could I have thought they looked like me? After the initial shock, I took a better look at their faces. Despite their perfection, they looked so sad. And their mesmerizing eyes looked at me almost longingly.

The woman took a step, looking like she glided on the floor, and came closer to where I was standing;

"Bella" She said again, sorrow coloring her crystal voice. I felt an irresistible impulse to run and fall into her arms. What is this feeling? This longing? I didn't manage to completely restrain myself; I didn't fall in her arms, but I did reach out to touch her. Only to feel my hand going straight through her. I quickly pulled my hand back. Although I was already surprised, I felt completely dazed by her reaction to my movement; she brought her hands to her mouth as tears ran freely from her eyes. The man shed a single tear himself and put his arms around the woman's shoulders.

"Oh, Bella!" Her muffled voice came through her hands as she kept crying. Why is she crying? Why does everybody seem to cry over me these days? Weren't my own tears enough? I wanted to ask her why she cried. I honestly did. But all I could manage was a weak;

"Who are you?"

She seemed to snap out of her agonized state as she wiped her tears with the back of her palms. She looked at the man next to her and he nodded encouragingly. The look in his face almost burned my soul; it was full of love and reminded me of another, different pair of golden eyes. I had no more time to dwell in my sadness, as the woman talked again.

"I know what you are about to hear is going to sound strange. Maybe you are not going to believe it at first, but I assure you it is completely true."

"Please Bella," the man said, his voice soothing me "listen to us. We don't have much time. We will answer you questions after we explain everything."

"I should probably start with our names." The woman said with her crystal voice. "I am Gaia and this is my husband Ouranos." My face must have shown my surprise as a similar sad smile spread across their faces; I started remembering ancient legends that included those two names.

"Yes," the woman now known as Gaia continued "_those_ Gaia and Ouranos. As you probably know, we are what the people of the ancient times used to call gods. What we really are however is protectors. Basically, if you want to use human terms, we are the king and queen of the gods." She added, her expression slightly exasperated, like the titles she had just used repelled her. "But what is most important for you to know is…" then she paused as tears made their appearance on her beautiful face once again.

I saw her looking at Ouranos pleadingly. He stroke her hair trying to calm her and then looked at me lovingly, melting my up to that moment absent heart, and said;

"What is more important for you to know, my Bella, is that we are your parents."


	3. Explanations

Let me start with thanking all of you who read this story and, of course, my amazing reviewers ENTER THE STARGATE, Irene90, affarie ava mai, and gabzCoatz; you guys rock! A huge thanks for the alerts and favs too! Here is the next chapter of the story. It came out a little sooner than planned, since I will probably update this story every four or five days, but seeing the reviews from my first chapter got me typing! This chapter is vital for the rest of the story since it explains many parts of Bella's past. What's more you're bound to find out I'm giving this story a slight fairy tale element; nothing much don't worry, I just couldn't resist it! If you have any questions feel free to ask; and don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**EXPLANATIONS.**

"_What is most important for you to know, my Bella, is that we are your parents."_

That's when I really knew I was dreaming. Yet, this still wasn't a nightmare and since I knew I was bound to have one if I woke up now, I decided to play along;

"But you can't be my parents." I said. "My parents are called Charlie and Renee and I can assure you that they are all-human." That seemed to hurt them a bit so I instantly regretted saying it.

"Let me start from the beginning" Ouranos said. "As your mother told you, although we are called gods, we are more like protectors. There are many of us, each one protecting a different element. Since your mother and I were the first ones, we control more than one. I protect darkness, moon and stars, air, fire and thunder. Your mother protects the light of the sun, earth and water. Although we are supposed to have many children, we actually only have you. Gods can only have one child in their whole lives. You see when we were first created, thousand of years ago, people tried to humanize us. So, they started to think that we should have families just like they did. Truth is, we don't know how we came to be; we just did. And we just knew that what we had to do was protect this planet and the creatures on it and intervene once we see destruction coming our way. In the beginning we all went along great. As time flew by however, some of us decided to join the dark side, wanting to claim the throne and rule in our place."

"You see there is a reason why we are the leaders of the gods." Gaia continued. "We control all of the elements, thus we represent balance. We also belong to what we like to call the 'light side'. That means we do exactly what our name says; we protect. However there are some of us that don't share our ideas. Their leaders are three; Kronos, Loki and Set. All three are powerful and have their own followers. Since they converted to the dark side their powers grew even stronger, fed by their hatred. The rest of us call them the cursed gods or simply the cursed ones. You see their main purpose is to first control the other gods and then rule over everything on this planet. And I am afraid they are very close to succeeding."

I knew they had told me not to interrupt them and it all sounded so surreal, I still wasn't sure if all this was for real or not, but I couldn't help myself. "Then why don't you stop them? Isn't that what you are supposed to do? Intervene whenever there is trouble?" I asked.

"I'm afraid we can't do that sweetheart." Ouranos said, looking beyond sad. "As you might have noticed when you tried to touch your mother before and as you have realized since we weren't with you during the past years we have been… let's say detained."

"Detained?" Was all I managed to ask.

"Yes." Ouranos continued angrily. "You see in order to take the throne, the cursed ones would have to take us out of the picture. The only flaw of their plan is that gods are really immortals. We can't be killed by anything. But we can get imprisoned. We were tricked Bella. Twenty years ago the cursed ones came to us and asked truce. They said they wouldn't return to our side, but they at least wouldn't try to overthrow us. We weren't completely convinced off course, but the war was on for far too long. We needed peace. So we took it. We waited for about a year and when nothing happened, we decided to do something we wanted for quite some time; to have a real family. Once your mother became pregnant with you, we just couldn't get happier." He said with a loving smile that made me feel closer to alive than I had felt in months.

"A few days before you were born they broke the truce. You must understand that every newborn god or goddess is supposed to have only one elemental power. However, before you were born, one of the cursed ones had a vision about you. He saw that you would inherit all of our powers, effectively becoming their stronger enemy. They just couldn't have that. We were living in London at the time, but the moment we found out we fled to the states, afraid for your life."

"But you said that gods are immortal. They couldn't hurt me even if they could get me, right?" I asked, not believing I was having a serious conversation about the possibility that I was a goddess.

"That is the catch." Gaia said. "You see what makes us immortals is our powers. Once they become a part of us they never leave. But when we give birth, our babies are not immortals because they haven't developed those powers yet. Their bodies are too fragile to contain them. So their powers develop during their childhood until they come of age and manage to fully control them. That's when they gain their immortality. Our kind comes of age when we turn eighteen. In your case we didn't have that much time. We simply couldn't risk fighting them with you around. So we did the only thing we thought possible; we sealed your powers so that they you would show no sign of them growing up. Then, right when we had started getting despaired, we got a lucky break. We were passing from Forks when we located a couple that was about to have a baby girl. They shared some of our characteristics; similar hair color, eye shape and height. We realized the moment we saw them that their baby was going to be born dead."

I gasped knowing what the names of the couple were; "Charlie and Renee." I whispered.

"Exactly." Gaia confirmed. "It was the most difficult decision we ever made, but we had to keep you safe. You were only a few days old at the time so we knew nobody would notice the difference. We waited a couple of hours till Renee gave birth and we took the dead baby, leaving you with them. We heard them saying that they would name you Isabella. It was actually one of the names we were considering. Then we left. We staged a fight a few miles away from Forks. We pretended you died in that fight. But we were outnumbered. We were taken captives and right now we are locked in the Underworld; Set's kingdom."

"Why don't you break out?" I asked confused.

"We wish we could." Ouranos said. "Our privet prison is specially designed to stop our powers. It can only be unlocked from the outside."

"If you can't use your powers, how comes you are taking to me right now?" I asked feeling light headed.

"That, I can explain." Ouranos offered. "When we locked your powers we made sure they would be unlocked eighteen years later, when you would have already turned eighteen. The reason you are seeing us now is because we are the ones that are supposed to unlock your powers. That has created a bond between us that allows us to communicate with you even if we are trapped here. This bond will off course subside when we are freed, since there will be no use for it to exist. Until then, you will be able to reach us while you are unconscious. As you can however understand, you are not really in our prison with us; we are simply projecting ourselves in your mind."

I was feeling dizzy at that point. "You said you will unlock my powers." I muttered. "Does that mean I will be immortal like you… a goddess?" I asked feeling my knees weaken. Immortal. Eighteen forever. Never aging. It would be poetic if it wasn't so tragic.

"Yes, sweetheart and that is the pressing matter." Gaia said. "You should have started getting your powers almost immediately after you turned eighteen. But due to the incident with that boy, Edward…"

I flinched from the pain the mention of his name caused me. "How do you know about him?" I asked, trying my best to hide the pain.

"We were trying to communicate with you for the past two months." Ouranos explained. "In order to do that we had to project ourselves into you mind"

"He was all you could think off, Bella." Gaia said, trying not to repeat his name, realizing how much it hurt me the first time. "By now, we pretty much know the whole story."

"Oh…" I simply muttered, trying not to think about him. It didn't work.

"Anyways," Gaia continued, obviously trying to distract me "your mind was so filled with pain that you managed to block us. As a result, we are a little behind schedule."

"You must understand that since your powers were locked away, your body isn't prepared for them." Ouranos said.

"Does that mean they are going to hurt me?" I asked. Exactly what I needed; more pain.

"Your powers?" Gaia asked. "No! Off course not. They are a part of who you are. They will never hurt you. But that doesn't mean they can't hurt others. We will have to unlock them gradually so that you body will be able to adjust and you will have time to learn how to control them."

"What we are going to unlock first is the physical part of your powers." Oranos continued. "That means you will get your immortality, strength, speed and balance back."

"I always knew there was something wrong with my balance…" I commended smugly. Gaia giggled slightly making a sound that -up to that moment- I thought could only be produced by crystal bells, while Ouranos continued explaining, smiling slightly; "Your mental abilities will increase too. You will be able to recall and process information better than humans, vampires or werewolves…"

"Werewolves are real too?" I asked.

"Yes, they are." Ouranos said. "And as a matter of fact, I believe there is a pack of them near Forks… Speaking about werewolves and vampires, I should probably inform you that being our daughter you essentially become their leader. You see, I am in charge of the vampires as your mother is of werewolves. You might want to be careful, especially around werewolves. It is in their nature to recognize their leader and act as packs, instinctively following his or her orders. With those said, you understand that if you start ordering them around they are bound to realize that you are far from human… Now where was I? Oh! Your senses will also be sharpened; smell, sight, hearing even feeling will be improved. You might actually start hearing other people's thoughts and control their emotions… but don't worry. It's not like vampire gifts. You will be able to turn them on and of whenever you want."

"Hearing people's thoughts…" I whispered mostly to myself. This was getting a bit hard to comprehend. Gaia shot Ouranos a piercing look, but he just shrugged and said; "It is better for her to find out now. And finally, your appearance is bound to be affected."

"My appearance?" I shrieked, having images of gods with four hands or with animal like faces crossing my mind.

"Well yes sweetheart." Gaia said. "You will look more like us. For example, you will get our eye color. It's kind of our family's trademark… Although I suggest you use your powers to hide it. It might seem suspicious if you suddenly change eye color. You should do the same thing with your glow… Don't worry however. Those things will come naturally. Our kind always used them to be able to blend in with humans."

"My glow?" Was all I managed to ask, feeling lightheaded once again.

"Yes." Gaia said. "It's that light you see around me and your father."

"I guess that's all for now." Ouranos said. "It seems we still have sometime left. Do you want to ask ant questions?"

I tried to organize my thoughts but it didn't work. I guess my powers are not working yet. So I decided to ask the first question that popped into my head;

"How will I recognize a cursed one if I see him?"

"Well," Ouranos explained "Kronos, Loki and Set will have eyes like ours but milky, like they are covered by fog. The rest of the cursed ones will also have that milky effect on their eyes, but their eye color will vary, depending on the element they control. The vampires or werewolves that have sided with them will also have milky eyes. For example, the Volturi have burgundy eyes, due to drinking human blood, but their eyes look cloudy because they have sided with the cursed ones."

"The Volturi?" I asked. "As in Caius, Marcus and Aro, leaders of the vampires, living in Volterra Italy, Volturi?"

"That's them alright." Ouranos agreed, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow at my response. "Although, as I said before, technically you and I are the leaders of the vampires…"

"Why do vampires that drink animal blood have golden eyes like we do?" I asked making the painful comparison between the Volturi and the Cullens.

"Well, that was my idea actually." Ouranos answered. "I figured that knowing our eyes are the same color, they would realize drinking animal blood is the right way to live as a vampire. That actually did work, until the Volturi convinced the vampires that only the cursed ones cared about them. At the time we were in the worst phase of the war, so we weren't in the place to convince them otherwise, but, after we get out of here, I do plan to make things right…" He said angrily.

"Do vampires have a soul?" I asked, remembering a conversation I once had with _him_.

"Sure they do." Ouranos answered. "Now, if some of them decide to condemn it by drinking human blood, that's their problem."

I then remembered something Ouranos had mentioned before. "How are you going to get out from your prison?" I asked.

"We can't, at least not by ourselves." Gaia said. "Our cell is specially designed to nullify our powers. Anyways, it is designed to only open from the outside. It would take tremendous force for it to open. None of our allies can do it."

"But I could!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, you could." Ouranos agreed. "But you won't. At least not before your powers fully develop. It's too dangerous and your mother and I don't want to see you in this prison with us."

"I get it…" I said disappointed. As much as I hated to admit it, he made sense. I don't even know where the entrance to this 'Underworld' is. Then something occurred to me. "Mom, dad, you said my powers will develop. Won't people notice if I set something on fire?" I waited for an answer but it didn't come. They both looked happy and shocked, while Gaia was back to tears. "Mom, dad, what happened?" I asked.

Gaia started sobbing, while Ouranos smiled lovingly at me, surprisingly trying to fight back his own tears. "You called us mom and dad, sweetheart. We didn't expect that…" he said.

"Oh!" I hadn't even realized how I had called them. It must have come naturally. I mean, I will always love Renee and Charlie, but I always thought of Renee like my best friend, since I practically was the adult in our relationship. As far as Charlie is concerned, I don't know why, but I never thought of him as my dad. He always was just Charlie… "If you don't want me to call you mom and dad, I could always…"

"No!" They both screamed panicked. "We were just happily surprised." Gaia said wiping her tears. "I've waited fro you to call me mom for far too long." She explained.

"Now, to answer your question," Ouranos said trying to lighten the mood "we have already taken care of that detail. We did as we waited for Renee to give birth. Your powers will unlock once you wake up. About two hours later you will receive a phone call. It will be from a lawyer, saying your great aunt Theresa, who lived in Australia, died and left you all of her fortune. Don't worry. We tempered with Charlie's memory so that he thinks he has an aunt called Theresa that lives in Australia… Amongst her belongings will be a house, located in Forks. It's right outside the town's limits, in a remote location so that you will be able to practice. It will be yours by tomorrow. You'd better use your power over emotions so that you will get Charlie to let you move out immediately."

I didn't know what to say. A house of my own! "Thank you…" was all I could whisper.

"Don't mention it sweetheart." Gaia said. "Think about it as eighteen years worth birthday presents."

Then I looked at her and my dad. He had one arm wrapped around her and looked at her lovingly. I couldn't control myself. I had to ask.

"Mom, dad, can I ask you something personal?"

"Anything you want, honey." Gaia said.

"Well…" I started, clearing my throat and blushing a bit "Well, you two have each other. Will I ever… I mean are there any rules I should know about…" I just couldn't finish my sentence, as images of _him_ flooded my mind and tears threatened to burst.

"Off course you will sweetheart." Gaia said. "Our kind has the ability to identify our other halves, in a way similar to werewolves' imprint."

"Imprint?" I asked.

"Yes." Gaia answered. "Werewolves know who their other half is after gaining their powers just by looking at them. We do almost the same, just in a bit more cliché way."

"Cliché?" I asked, afraid I might have began sounding stupid constantly asking one word questions.

"Yes." Gaia answered smiling playfully. "It requires a kiss."

"Isn't that a bit fairy tale like?" I asked, feeling my heart sinking. I had already kissed the man I was in love with and nothing had happened.

"Yes it is," Gaia agreed "but where do you think all this folk about enchanted kisses comes from?" She asked and then added correctly guessing what was hiding behind my sad voice; "You know, you have to be in your full powers for it to work. Even if you had met your other half, you wouldn't know yet."

"Oh!" I whispered, not knowing if I should be happy or not. He didn't love me anyways.

"However you should know that if the one you love is not of our kind, there will be complications." Gaia said.

"What type of complications?" I asked. Wasn't I allowed to be with someone that was not a god?

"Nothing too bad really…" Gaia said. "He will just turn into a god himself, mirroring your powers. I just didn't want you to be scared if it happened." She explained like turning into a god was the simplest thing in the world.

I wanted to ask them more, but they started fading away. "What's happening?" I asked frantically.

"Nothing to worry about." Ouranos said. "You're just waking up. Time for one last question." I then remembered something crucial. I knew I would be immortal but I didn't know how.

"Will I be forever eighteen? Why do you look older?" I asked.

"Yes, you will look eighteen forever." Ouranos assured me. "We look older because we were created this way. You were born a goddess, so you aged until turning eighteen. But you will age no more."

They were getting all bleary now. "When will I see you again?"

"You can reach us every time you fall asleep." Gaia said. "But now it is time to wake up. This is going to be a very interesting day for you and you better enjoy it! And remember we love you so much…"


	4. Awakening

As promised, here is the next chapter! I would like to thank all of you who read this story for your support, alerts and favs and of course, I have to thank the greatest people in the planet; my reviewers! So thank you; Emma-girl, ENTER THE STARGATE, Irene90, affarie ava mai, and gabzCoatz. Just remember people; keep reviewing and I'll keep writing!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**AWAKENING**

"_You can reach us every time you fall asleep." Gaia said. "But now it is time to wake up. This is going to be a very interesting day for you and you better enjoy it! And remember we love you so much…" _

My eyes snapped open and I found myself staring at the sealing, as I did before I fell asleep. I had never noticed how white it was or that it had a darker color in one corner right above my bed. Weird. The sun was rising behind the clouds and I could see all the variations of colors outside my window. A rainbow could be seen in the distance, but something was of; I could count two extra colors, one in each end, which were never there before. As a matter of fact, I didn't remember seeing them anywhere.

I could hear the sound each raindrop made as it touched the ground and the whistle of the light breeze as it blew through the trees. It turned out to be pretty soothing. I could even smell the pines of the forest near the house. Remembering something _he_ had said, I brought my palm near my nose; lavender and freesias. If I may say, I do smell good… That means it really wasn't a dream. Shocking.

I remembered the other things my dad talked me about. Strength and speed. I rose from my bed in a blur of movements. I guess that is what my father meant when he said speed. I didn't want to break anything in my room however, so I decided to try strength later.

Then I looked at my hands. Besides the fact that they looked more elegant and thinner, they were also glowing. _"Your appearance will also be affected"_, isn't that what my father told me? I moved to my closet, faster than I ever thought possible. I, surprisingly, didn't trip over anything. I knew that behind the closet's door was a mirror. I took a deep breath, trying to relax myself and taking in all the new scents in the air. I slowly opened the door.

I gasped. This just couldn't be me. Ugh, uh! Not possible! I raised my hand and the goddess in the mirror did the same. So this is me. Once again; weird. I tried to take my new image in.

My hair had grown and now reached my waist. They still were the same color, but now looked thicker and straight, as if I've been combing them for hours. My body was leaner and I must have dropped a few pounds. I also looked a bit taller and I was definitely more curved in all the right places. Definitely. My face was different too. My eyes had my parent's stunning gold color, looked larger and were surrounded by thick eyelashes. My cheekbones were higher and more pronounced, all baby fat gone. Even my skin was different; it wasn't paler, but looked clear and radiant. I looked at my hands and was surprised to find the familiar crescent scar gone. I felt the hole in my chest shoring but I tried to ignore it and focused on my reflection again.

Even in my pajamas (an old t-shirt and sweatpants) I looked divine. I blushed at my own thoughts and watched surprised as my cheeks didn't turn red. They just bronzed lightly, like I had deliberately applied a pink-bronze blush on them. If possible, it made me look even better. If I allowed myself to be smug, I looked better -much better- than Rosalie. If only _he_ could see me now… The pain in my chest tripled by his mere thought. Human or not, some things never change.

I tried to do what my mother had told me. Soon I could turn the glow on and off relatively easy. I thought of my parents again, trapped in that cave and anger rose from my already aching chest; I will get them out, come what may. I promise.

Then I turned my attention to my eyes. I really didn't want to change their color, but I knew I had to. A couple of minutes later my eyes looked like they were before; brown. However they felt unnatural. Too dry. When I changed them back to gold, I instantly felt better. I sighed and turned them brown again. I could survive a few hours of dry eyes. After that, I tried to pick an outfit from the mess I call my closet. The weather outside was cold, as it was mid-November, but it didn't feel bad. I just know its cold, but I don't feel cold myself. I doubt I can ever get a cold anyways. Immortal right?

But I imagine people will think I'm crazy if I go out with nothing but my jeans and a t-shirt on. So I pulled out a pair of jeans that I hadn't put on in ages since they were too tight. I also picked a black athletic top and a soft white woolen pullover, which felt amazing on my skin due to my heightened senses. I also picked a pair of black boots and, since my jeans turned out to be loose around my waist and hips, a black belt to keep them in place. I looked at myself in the mirror. Even with my eyes brown I looked breathtaking. I do have to go shopping though; it doesn't seem that any of my other clothes are the right size anymore. I believe my dad said something about a fortune. Maybe I should put his words to the test.

I took another look at the stranger in my mirror. Thankfully, I hadn't been at school in two moths so I could use an 'I grew up, lost some pounds and gained some inches, who would have thought?' excuse. I had to return to school. If I wanted Charlie to let me move out of the house I should… Suddenly realization hit me; Charlie. What could serve as an excuse for my new looks?

"Calm down Bella…" I whispered to myself, surprised by the sound of my own voice; I sounded like my mother, only a bit… younger I guess would be the right word to describe it. But even my surprise from my new crystal voice wasn't enough to distract me from my main problem; Charlie would notice my changes. He did raise me after all. How would I ever be able to persuade him to let me move out after seeing my changes? I tried to organize my thoughts and this time it worked. I guess being a goddess helps in situations like this one.

For the past two and a half months, the only times Charlie actually saw me he was standing at my bedroom door while I was curled into a ball, usually crying my eyes out. Maybe this had a faint but existent possibility to work after all. His uneasiness around me could be the key to get him believe that my changes were natural. And I wouldn't really lie since in a way my changes are natural. This is how I was always supposed to be. And then I could use an excuse of the type; 'I need some personal space to think everything that has happened through' to move out of the house.

If that didn't work, I could always use the; 'I am eighteen and I can move out of the house if I want to' line. But that was my last resort. Even if Charlie isn't my real father he does love me and I love him too. I don't want to hurt him with my actions. Maybe I should give those mental powers my father talked about a shot. If I could make Charlie feel like he could trust me to be alone, he might not oppose too hard to me moving out of the house. It was a plan that was definitely worth a shot.

With my newfound acute hearing, I realized Charlie was awake. I heard him going to the bathroom and realized I didn't feel the need to go. I wasn't hungry either although I hadn't eaten anything in over two days. Come to think of it I didn't even know what I was supposed to eat. Ambrosia and nectar? It did sound appropriate, but then again where was I supposed to find something like that? Walk into the groceries store and ask for some? I snorted and realized that even that sound felt like music. I rolled my eyes once again and proceeded combing my hair. They had finally decided to stay straight and unaffected by humidity so I decided to leave them cascade down my back. I took a last look at my reflection making sure my eyes were still brown, although the soreness I felt meant they were. I decided not to use any make-up -not that I usually did, but now it would really be unnecessary- and waited for Charlie to go to the kitchen.

Once I heard him opening the fridge, I left my room and descended the stairs to the kitchen. I walked pass the calendar and I found out it was Saturday, 16th of November. I took a deep breath and entered the kitchen. Charlie was making coffee and looking outside the window. I summoned all the strength I could manage, braced myself and simply said;

"Good morning Charlie." He was so surprised that he dropped his coffee which, fortunately, landed in the sink. He didn't seem to bother though as he turned to face me. I could see the awe and confusion spreading on his face in seconds. I could only sympathize. He had been waiting for me to snap out of my depression for so long so that he could have me back as I was before and now not only I looked different, I sounded different too. I tried to use the powers my father had talked about. I tried reading his thoughts first, forbidding myself to think of someone else with the same ability. I almost thought it didn't work, but then I started getting incoherent thoughts like; _'No, she can't be… What? How?'_

In the beginning I thought it was my fault, being unable to get full sentences out of him. Then I realized he was just far too confused to form coherent thoughts. I tried sending him soothing feelings and it seemed to work, because he finally spoke.

"Bella is that you? You look so… different." He said.

"Yes, I know!" I said trying to appear surprised by my changes. It wasn't all so difficult since I wasn't completely faking my surprise. "You know, I woke up this morning and decided to snap out of it." I said, trying to sound more convincing than I felt. I heard his disbelief in his thoughts and sent him some reassuring feelings until he seemed a bit more relaxed. I went on with my explanation; "I guess two and a half months and some weight loss really changes you, right? I mean even my voice sounds different. Maybe this means my teen years are coming to an end…" I said, giving it my all to sound persuasive. My combined efforts seemed to bend him as he thought; '_She is a bit more her self, finally.'_

He then approached me and pulled me into a hug, feeling grateful his daughter was finally starting to find herself again. Of course he did suspect I only did it for him; after all he did raise me. At least he seemed to almost accept my new looks, I guess due to the fact that he was overjoyed I was doing something else than mourning. "Charlie," I complained "I really need to breathe you know." Did I need to breathe? Note to self; find out if I need air to survive.

"Sorry Bells." Charlie apologized letting me of his death grip. "I am just so happy you are getting better. You look beautiful!" He exclaimed. "I can't believe this woman is my little Bella."

"Oh, it's me alright." I said. "I just felt like I could use some change." Liar, liar… a small yet annoying noise whispered in the back of my head. It wasn't a change I was in desperate need of. But since I wasn't going to get him back, I could just as well pretend.

"You look like an angel. No, like a goddess!" Charlie said and I wondered if he could even imagine how close he was to the truth. He got ready to add a comment to what he had said, only to be interrupted by the phone.

"I wonder who is calling." Charlie said. Well, I did have a very good idea about who that might be. I realized that thanks to my new hearing skills I could hear both sides of the conversation.

"Hello, who is this?" Charlie asked.

"Is this mister Charles Swan?" the voice on the other side of the line said with an Australian accent. My parents had actually found an Australian lawyer to represent 'aunt Theresa'. Genius. I listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Yes, I am. And who are you?"

"My name is Spencer Hill. I'm Mrs. Theresa Swan's lawyer."

"Theresa Swan? You mean my aunt from Australia?"

"Exactly sir."

"What's the problem?" Charlie asked, his work instincts kicking in.

"You don't know? I'm sorry to be the one to tell you sir, but Mrs. Swan died last week. I thought you were informed."

"No, I wasn't. We weren't really close." Charlie explained. I saw him looking at me and I realized he was afraid about how I was going to react to a family member's death. I didn't want to read his mind again but I understood he was afraid I would fall back to depression. Yeah, right. Like I had snapped out of it in the first place…

"Well sir, I was hoping to find you at home. You see I'm the one responsible for Mrs. Swan's will. I'm on my way to your house at this moment."

"Isn't that a bit fast?" Charlie asked confused.

"I know sir and I ask for your understanding. My office is in Sydney and I had to change continents in order to find you. I have to return to Australia as soon as possible."

"Then it's okay, I guess. How long will it take for you to get here?"

"Well sir, to tell you the truth, right now I am outside your house and about to ring your doorbell. I just thought it would more polite if I called you first…"

"Then ring the doorbell and I will open the door." Charlie said and hung up the phone, irritation coloring his voice. The sound of the doorbell reached my ears. That was fast.

"I'll get it." Charlie said and headed towards the door. I heard him greeting Mr. Hill and leading him to the living room. They introduced properly and started talking about the will, so I decided to join them. Mr. Hill was facing Charlie when I approached them and when Charlie show me, he introduced me to him.

"Mr. Hill, this is my daughter Bella." The lawyer turned to face me. He was in his mid-thirties, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a rather cute face. If I wasn't so helplessly in love with a man too close to perfection for his… well for _my_ own good, I might even think he was rather handsome. His reaction as he saw me surprised me; I had completely forgotten about my new looks, but it was obvious to me that he was fully aware of how I looked. He was gapping and stared at me with wide eyes filled with appreciation and glowing with what appeared to be lust. I couldn't resist not listening to his thoughts;

'_Oh my God, I've died and gone to heaven. Thank you so much.'_ It was really hard not to laugh and not only because of the content of his daydreaming; even his thoughts had Australian accent. I realized that he was too awestricken to talk so I took action. I reached for his hand, shook it and said;

"Bella Swan, nice too meet you Mr. Hill."

"Please, please call me Spencer." He said sounding breathless. My brief touch and the sound of my voice had shaken him even more.

"Spencer it is then." I complied and smiled at him. He almost passed out. I took a seat next to Charlie and Spencer landed rather unceremoniously to a chair right across where we were sitting. He turned to face us, or rather stare at me. I started feeling rather self-conscious which of course leaded to blushing, the pink-bronze shade appearing on my cheeks. I silently thanked my good fortune that I no longer had to look like a tomato every time I felt embarrassed. Spencer however noticed and looked like he would start drooling anytime now. Charlie finally noticed what was happening and cleared his throat.

"Mr. Hill, I believe you had started talking about the will…" Charlie said.

"Yeah, right, the will." Spencer said, still looking at me lustfully. I tried not to think of the images I had seen flooding his head right before breaking the connection; he really had a vivid imagination for a lawyer. He shook his head and forced himself to look away from my face and body to reach for his briefcase, with a look of complete anguish on his face, like taking his gaze from me was the hardest thing he had ever done. After some moments of searching he finally found the will and addressed Charlie still looking at me.

"Well, here it is, it is a rather simple will." He cleared his throat and began reading the will. "I, Theresa Swan, leave all of my estates and fortune to my great-niece Isabella Marie Swan, daughter of Charles and Renee. I never managed to have a daughter of my own and it is my greatest regret. Thus, I leave all that I own to the last Swan female. I know she will make good use of it."

Charlie was gapping at Spencer who looked a bit surprised himself. I knew I had to look surprised too so I tried to master the feeling;

"But I didn't know her. I had never even seen her once! Are there not any other relatives that could claim her fortune?" I asked proud with myself. It seems that turning into a goddess boosted my ability to lie too.

"She is right you know." Charlie said, agreeing with me. "I am a police officer and I know the troubles that come with such wills."

"There is no problem of that type, sir." Spencer said. "Your daughter just happens to have an amazingly ethical character." He added praising me, with a goofy smile on his face. It was really getting embarrassing not to mention annoying. "There are no other blood relatives alive, so if you don't make a claim upon the will there should be no problem."

"I really am not interested in making a claim." Charlie said with a matter-of-fact tone in his voice. "What did Bella exactly inherit?"

"Mrs. Swan liquefied all of her estates except from a house here in Forks. I think it is right outside the town limits. I believe she intended to return here someday. I have the address and the keys with me. Bella will also receive, if she decides to accept the will, quite a respectable amount of money." Spencer said and wrote something on a piece of paper, showing it to Charlie. I saw Charlie's face turning pale and one look at the paper was enough to understand why; the amount had eight digits. I should tell my parents that they overdid it. Spencer turned to me and added;

"If you choose to accept all those will be yours today, given of course that you are a legal adult."

"Oh, that I am." I said and smiled at him, making him look at me like I had just confessed I was madly in love with him. Charlie decided to intervene.

"If you don't mind, I would rather if we took this to my lawyer's office. It is only a fifteen minutes drive from here."


	5. Changes

Before I say anything else I should mention I almost cried when I saw how many reviews you guys left me! They had almost doubled since the last chapter! Just WOW! Have I mentioned you reviewers are amazing? No? Well, you are and there's nothing you can do about it -except from keep reviewing, which would make me even happier ^_^! Just thank you **all! **And don't think I forgot all you who gave me alerts and favs for the story! Now, with no more bubbling, I give you the next chapter of my story; enjoy!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**CHANGES**

"_If you don't mind, I would rather if we took this to my lawyer's office. It is only a fifteen minutes drive from here." _

It had been five hours since Spencer had come to Charlie's house. Since then I had visited Charlie's lawyer, a sixty years odd fellow, that almost had a heart attack when he saw me, settled al the details of the will, said goodbye to Spencer, who gave me his phone number insisting I should call him if I ever needed anything and he would be on the first plane to the states, and I was at the moment in Charlie's car, sharing with him one of those comfortable silent moments. He seemed deep in thought and I didn't want to intrude his privacy. Instead, I took the time to organize my thoughts as to what I was going to tell him. I really needed to move out of his house.

We entered the house and I watched him sitting on the couch. I went to the kitchen and fetched two glasses of water. I had drunk water in the lawyer's office too and I came to realize that, although I obviously didn't need it, water had never tasted so good before.

I sat across him and started sending him relaxing feelings. I had decided that I would need all the help I could get and although I hadn't looked in his mind since this morning, I was prepared to do so if the circumstances demanded it.

"Charlie," I started speaking, sounding surer than I felt "I've been meaning to talk to you about something important…" He surprised me by raising his hand, motioning me to stop.

"You want to move in that house, right?" He asked.

"Yes, how did you know?" I asked staring at him, wondering if I wasn't the only one that could read minds in this house and bracing myself for the argument I was about to have. The argument never came.

"I'm the one who raised you, Bells. I should know how your mind works by now. And I want you to know that I understand. I believe that it would be better if you were able to have a fresh start." He said, shocking me in the process. The shock only intensified as I listened to his thoughts and realized he meant every word he had spoken. 'I believe new surroundings might take Edward of her mind.' Were his exact thoughts.

The moment I heard his name I broke the connection. I felt my chest ache and I barely managed to stop myself from bringing my hands to my sides in a desperate attempt to keep my chest from being torn in half. Charlie's thoughts were completely off the target; no matter were I was _he_ was always going to be on my mind. But since they helped me with my plan to move out, I played along.

"When do you want to move out?" Charlie asked.

"I didn't think it would be so easy…" I admitted. "I was thinking to move out as quickly as possible." And then I added in order not to sound like he was the reason I was leaving; "I want to go back to school and the sooner I settle in, the faster I will be able to do so. I think Spencer mentioned that the house is furnished. Maybe I should move in tomorrow."

"I thought you would say something like that. You have the tendency to act quickly once you've made your decisions, don't you? If that is what you want, I will help you move out." He concluded.

"You really mean it?" I asked, shock and disbelief coloring my voice. A smile appeared on Charlie's face.

"Yes, I mean it." He assured me. "But I want you to promise me that you will go back to school and that you will start seeing your friends again. You've been cut out for far too long. I also expect you to call me everyday and visit. I will be checking on you too of course. Oh! I almost forgot; you will be the one to break the news to Renee."

"Of course Charlie!" Those were the best terms I could expect. I would have gone back to school anyways and Renee wouldn't object on me being independent. "Would you mind if I packed now?"

"No Bells. If you want help just give me a call. I have to go to work. Being the chief of police isn't always easy…" he said. I ran and gave him a hug, remembering not to use too much force.

"Thank you for understanding. I really need this."

"I know you need it Bella. That's why I'm letting you do it." And with one last hug he went to his car. I waited by the window watching him until he drove away. I thanked him once again mentally and ran to my room. I called Renee and told her about the will and me moving out of the house. She was of course thrilled I was getting better and, like Charlie, she sounded pleased -or better relieved- I was making a fresh start. I then started packing all of my belongings. I even read all my school books while waiting for Charlie, happily surprised by the speed in which I was able to read and by the fact that I remembered every single detail. By the time Charlie got home I had packed everything and had cooked diner.

I sat with him while he ate, telling him I had already eaten. Sure I might be immortal, but I'm still not sure about what I am supposed to eat and since I wasn't hungry, I decided not to push my luck. After an hour I told Charlie I was tired from all the packing and that I should probably turn in for the day. I wasn't tired at all or sleepy of course, but I wanted to see my parents. I hugged him goodnight and headed to my room. All my belongings where gathered there in one box. It wasn't much since I had decided not to take my clothes or my computer with me. I put on my pajamas and slide under the covers. I knew I wasn't sleepy so I tried to empty my head from all thoughts. It must have worked since in a few moments I was back in the cave.

This time my parents were waiting for me. I resisted my urge to hug them since I knew it would be of no use. I instead approached them and greeted them;

"Hi mom, dad!"

"Hello sweetheart!" Ouranos said as Gaia smiled at me lovingly.

"You look beautiful." She told me. I looked at my hands and saw them glowing bright due to the lack of any natural light in the cave. My eyes must have also returned to their natural color as I couldn't feel them dry anymore. I quickly explained what had happened during the day and they seemed to understand Charlie's reaction better than I did.

"He wants the best for you, honey. He thinks that by letting you have your own space you will be able to get your priorities straight and get yourself together again." Gaia explained.

"I wish it was that easy…" I whispered. I tried to take my mind off the subject so I told them everything about my mind reading and emotion controlling abilities. Ouranos seemed really pleased with my control over them. "You are your mother's daughter after all." He said. "I think it's now safe to give you the rest of your mental abilities back."

"There are more of them?" I asked bewildered.

"Two more actually." Gaia said. "The sight and animorphing. The sight consists of two parts; the first one is the ability to have visions of the future. You will have no control over this gift however. Your visions will come on their own, when something important is about to happen. The second part is what we call projecting. It means that you will be able to project images of the present about people that are far away. This part of the gift you will be able to use whenever you wish and it's quite handy when you want to check on your enemies. It does have its downsides though; if you watch another god or goddess for more than a few seconds they will know."

"What do you mean project them?" I asked. "Into thin air?"

"You could do that if you want to, but the images would be much clearer on a reflective surface, a mirror or water for example." Ouranos answered. "Animorphing on the other hand is exactly what the word says; it's the ability to turn your self into any animal you can think of. It's quite useful when you want to sneak up behind somebody but it also has its downsides. Your eyes will inform the others that you are no animal. You see, they will be like solid orbs of their original color. Yours for example will appear like pure liquid gold. It's still very useful however."

"Useful? It's perfect!" I exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like it." Gaia said smiling happily. "And the good thing with it is that instead of destroying your clothes, like werewolves do, when you morph your clothes are going to change with you, so you won't end up naked when you change back."

"That is definitely good." I said, unable to hide my excitement. "And I can morph into any animal I want?"

"Yes. Just picture that animal in your head and then go on with the transformation. You have to make sure you have all the details of the animal in question in your mind though before you start the transformation, or else you might end up with half of the characteristics of the animal and half of your own. Some of us used to do that on purpose once in a while…" Gaia explained and an image of Anubis, an ancient Egyptian deity that was depicted as a man with a jackal's head, flashed in my mind. "You can change into more than one animals at once too, or at least give that impression. For example, I always liked to morph into a raven and then create the illusion of five or six more ravens to fly with me. It's quite dazzling I can assure you…"

"Will I be able to fly if I morph into a bird?" I asked, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Well, yeah." Ouranos said. "You will be able to fly without needing to transform first anyways, after you get to control air."

"Oh my…" Was all I managed to say while staring at my father, effectively making both him and my mother brake to laughter. I was getting a head rush from all the overflowing information.

"I want to ask you a couple of questions." I said remembering all that had happened during the day.

"You wouldn't be my daughter if you didn't have any questions." Ouranos admitted smiling. I smiled back and asked;

"Do we need to breathe to survive?"

"Not really, no. But the deprivation of the sense of smell can get very annoying." Gaia said.

"What do we eat?" I continued, taking in all the new information.

"Technically speaking, we don't need to eat. We take the energy straight from our powers." Ouranos said. "You might have noticed that you weren't hungry at all today. However, we can eat anything we want even if it's just to act more like humans. As a matter of fact, now that your senses are heightened, you will be able to taste food better than before."

"That kind of makes sense." I said remembering the different taste water had when I tasted it and my lack of appetite although I hadn't eaten anything for two days. "But we don't have any other human needs, do we?"

"No we don't, but I would recommend you to pretend using the bathroom once in a while when you are around other people. You know, keep a low profile…" Gaia explained.

"I see… but we can sleep." I stated.

"That we do, even if we don't have to, since we don't get tired." Ouranos said. "However sometimes sleep can help you clear your mind and unwind. You really need to relax from times to times when you live as long as we do."

"I think I get it. And we can cry and blush, right?"

"Yes, we do cry and since we have a heartbeat and blood running through our veins, we do blush." Gaia said and then added; "Although if you blush as much as I do, you might wish we didn't." I started laughing at her words, finally realizing where my trait to blush every five seconds had come from. Then I remembered something peculiar about my blush.

"Why does it look like I turn pink-bronze instead of red when I blush?"

"When you blush, your blood comes closer to the surface of your skin, just like it happens with humans." Ouranos explained. "You probably haven't noticed since we don't bleed, we can't be physically harmed by anything, but your blood is no longer red. It now has the color of your eyes; gold and shiny." He added teasingly.

"So through my skin it gives the illusion of pink-bronze blush." I said and passed to the next subject. "We really can't be harmed by anything?"

"Yes, unless we want to." Ouranos said.

"Why would we want to be hurt?"

"Our blood possesses many traits; it is therapeutic to all and empowers werewolves and vampires." Ouranos explained. "Although our blood doesn't smell edible to vampires, it does have some effect on them; one single drop is enough to increase their strength for a period of time. That's how the cursed ones got the Volturi on their side."

"I guess that makes sense." I said.

"I want to tell you something about your house." Gaia said. "As you have already heard it is fully furnished but what you should know is that in the basement there is something like a training area where you can go and exercise once you start controlling elements. However you will find no clothes in the house. I didn't know what the fashion trends would be in the future when we bought the house…"

"Well you sure left me enough cash to buy all the clothes that I will ever need. You kind of overdid it. I thought my eyes would pop out of my head when I saw the amount I 'inherited'." I said.

Dad shook his hand dismissively and said; "Don't even mention it." They started getting all bleary again.

"Damn! I'm waking up." I said.

"I'm afraid so sweetheart." Gaia said.

"Okay then." I said, sadness prominent in my voice. "I love you guys…"

"We love you too, sweetheart." Ouranos said as I lost them from my sight.

I opened my eyes sighing. The sun was rising again. I checked to see if Charlie was up. He wasn't. I could hear him snoring from his bedroom. I decided to check on my new powers so I opened my closet and looked my self in the mirror, still a bit confused about my image. I guess I will get used to it in due time. I fought back the urge to check on _him,_ knowing it would only cause me more pain. It was frustrating that I almost gave into my desire to see him, not caring how much it would hurt; all that held me back was my decision to be strong for my parents. So I ended up 'respecting' his will for a clean break and checked on Charlie instead. I concentrated and managed to project his image on the mirror, slightly surprised that he was actually on his bed snoring.

I remembered my father saying something about werewolves in the area; they turned out to be members of the Quileute tribe and I was shocked to see that Jacob Black was one of them. He did look different though, with his hair short, and he appeared to be older and more serious than I remembered him. I mentally noted to try avoiding them so they wouldn't connect my changes to my true nature. I had an odd feeling I wouldn't be able to hide from them for long.

Then I remembered Laurent and Victoria; I was surprised to see they were in the forests near Forks with the werewolves tracking them. I guessed that they were here for me and that I might have to deal with them personally later. The Volturi were still in Voltera and though I had never seen them in person, they creped me out. Thus, I decided to keep tubs with them regularly.

I then closed my eyes and concentrated, ready to test my second power. The first animal that came to my mind was a wolf. I guess the knowledge of the existence of werewolves had rubbed in on me. So, only seconds later, I found myself morphed into an elegant white wolf, with two stunning golden orbs for eyes. I then morphed into an eagle and flew around the room, feeling more free than ever. After a few more transformations I remembered my mother's words and morphed into a flock of ravens. I found out that the rest of the ravens that flew around me were merely copying my movements and were nothing more than copies of myself, with no life of their own. Anyways, my mother was right; it was dazzling.

I heard Charlie waking up, so I swiftly ran into the bathroom, had a quick shower, brushed my teeth and hair and headed back to my bedroom. I grabbed the box with my belongings, which appeared to be unreasonably light due to my newfound strength, and walked to the kitchen to wait for Charlie to escort me to my new house.


	6. Of Fire And Shopping

Hi there, it's me again… Sorry for the slightly late update, but I tried to make this chapter a little longer than usual and I hope it will work out with you guys. As always I would like to thank my amazing reviewers, who are the sole purpose of this fic being written; you guys are the best and you know it! So, this chapter contains some quite important details for the rest of the story, but it's still a lighter chapter compared to the more angsty ones that are coming your way. It wasn't written like that to begin with but one of my super reviewers wrote me that Bella had to go shopping soon… So I took that idea and wrote a chapter around it! As always I hope you'll enjoy reading it and; please do review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**OF FIRE AND SHOPPING**

_I grabbed the box with my belongings, which appeared to be unreasonably light due to my newfound strength, and walked to the kitchen to wait for Charlie to escort me to my new house. _

Two and a half an hour drive later, me in my truck and Charlie in his cruiser, were in my new house, a beautiful stone made, two stories building up in the mountains. We parked the cars in a garage that had enough room for at least three more cars and moved towards the main house. We walked inside and were met by a wonderfully furnished living room and, at least as far as I was concerned, by a painful surprise; the whole back wall of the house was made of glass. Just like _his_ house. I tried to look past the glass and focused on the view instead. The house was in a location high enough to overlook the forest near Forks. The view was breathtaking.

The rest of the first floor consisted of a room that served as a library and an office, with bookcases staffed with books, a kitchen, a door that led to the garage and the basement and the stairs to the next floor. Since I didn't want Charlie to see the basement, I took the stairs to the second floor.

My new bedroom was on the second floor; it was a large room with white walls except the one behind my bed that was made out of dark stone, a king size, wooden canopy bed with thick white linen curtains, an empty bookcase and an equally empty walk in closet, which was almost as big as the room itself. Across my bed I could see a stone fireplace and a boudoir made from the same caramel colored wood as my bed was right next to the closet.

As on the first floor, one of the walls was made completely out of glass. I realized there was one more door in the room, so I opened it, only to find myself in a luxurious bathroom, covered with marble in a very light peach color. As I looked at the huge tub, I felt immensely thankful I would no longer have to share my bathroom with Charlie.

After I got settled and connected the phone, Charlie left to go to work. The moment he was gone, I ran to the basement; it consisted of one single room, as big as the whole first floor above it. It was covered in stone and light was coming from hatches on the ceiling. It was completely emptyand I guessed its sole purpose was to be able to use my powers without destroying anything or being seen.I went back upstairs and unpacked. I left my school books in the library, happy I still remembered every detail.

I realized I hadn't changed my appearance since Charlie left, so I turned my eyes to their normal color and allowed the glow to return; I felt normal -as normal as I would ever feel from now on- immediately, immensely relieved I could finally be myself. I looked outside; it was getting dark. I ran to my bathroom on the second floor, filled the tub with hot water and slid in. I almost relaxed feeling the warm water battling with my knotted nerves, so I staid in for an hour, until the water went completely cold. I reached for the bathrobe I had brought from Charlie's house and headed to my room. For the first time in the last two months I felt like listening to some music. I really had to buy a stereo for my bedroom. And some CD's too.

I took a look out the window to the forest beneath me. I noticed that a part of the glass could slide to the right so fresh air would find its way inside the room. I slid it open and searched the house for pillows and sheets. After I found the sheets and two pillows I made my bed and slid under the covers, leaving the window slightly open. Victoria and Laurent would never be able to recognize my scent now that the edible part of it was gone and besides, the cool breeze felt great against my skin. In a matter of seconds my mind went completely blank and I was facing my parents again.

"Why are you wearing a bathrobe?" Ouranos asked as I looked down at myself.

"Oh! I must have slept in it." And I wasn't even tired. Go figure.

"Okay Bella." Gaia said, looking slightly amused. "Today you will receive your first element." She continued, "Your father and I have talked about this and we both agree that it should be fire. It is the hardest of the elements to control, since it is somehow connected with emotions."

"Hardest or not, I might need it." I said and explained what I had found out about Laurent and Victoria and why I thought they were probably after me.

"So you think they might want revenge? Gaia asked. "It is a possibility I guess and you are right; fire will be useful against them. But no matter what, you should try to lay low. We don't want anyone to find out who and especially _what_ you are before you come to your full powers. And while we could probably trust the werewolves, those two vampires are a completely different subject. If one of them escaped, he or she could inform the Volturi and thus the cursed ones. We simply can't risk that."

"You are right mom…" I agreed and changed the subject, a small part of my mind still thinking about Laurent and Victoria. "So, how am I supposed to keep fire under control?"

"Once you wake up, head to the basement. That room you saw is indestructible; it can neither brake nor burn." Ouranos said. "First thing you do is bring your hands in front of you like this." He brought his hands in frond of his body, in the height of his upper torso, his palms facing each other, the distance between them about two inches apart. "Since this will be the first time you are practicing with elements and because fire is so connected with your feelings, you have to be completely sure that you have your feelings under control before you even think of summoning the element. After you clear your mind of anything irrelevant, focus on the element you want to summon, in this case fire, and will it to appear. If you are doing it right, there should be a small orb of pure fire between your hands." While saying that, the said fire orb made its appearance between his palms. To say that I was amazed would be an understatement. I still couldn't believe that soon I would be able to do that too.

"Stay like that until you feel you got the element under control." My father continued. "Once you do, try creating more than one orb, throw fire in jets, create fire rings or try to light fire without moving your hands. Basically use your imagination."

"I think I got it, at least the theoretical part." I said trying to sound more certain than I felt. My parents didn't seem that much convinced.

"Don't worry sweetheart, you will get it under control in no time." Gaia tried to comfort me. "Now however, I am afraid you should go back."

"But why?" I asked feeling a little hurt; being with my parents made not thinking about Edward that little more possible. Okay that's a lie; he is still all I can think about even if my parents are with me, but at least their presence is a bit comforting. "I only just got here!" I complained.

"We know Bells, but if I am not mistaken you are supposed to return to school tomorrow and I think you should have gotten fire as much under control as possible before you do so." Ouranos said. "You don't want to set anyone on fire, do you?" He asked teasing me once again. He did have a point though.

"I get it, I guess… so I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked trying to concentrate on the task ahead of me.

"Tomorrow." My father reassured me. I sighed and took one last look of my parents before I willed my self to wake.

I opened my eyes and looked at the alarm clock on the bed stand. Three thirty in the morning. I took a look outside the window. The moon was shining bright in the sky. It wasn't full yet; from the shape of it I imagined it would be a full moon on Friday. However, it was brighter than I could ever remember and gave the sky a mysterious deep blue color, only interrupted by shimmering stars, which my immortal eyes were strong enough to appreciate. There barely were any clouds in the sky so the moonlight made the forest beneath look almost silver. For a fragment of a second I let the cold breeze blowing from the open window touch my skin as I whished with all the strength my broken heart possessed for two painfully familiar marble hands around my body.

I sighed again -a habit I was taking to during the past months- and headed to my bathroom. I mechanically brushed my teeth and combed my hair, feeling emotionally numb again. At least my encounters with my parents had stopped the constant nightmares, although a part of me -a very masochistic and stubborn part of me- was dying to see his face again even in a nightmare.

I went back to my room and opened the closet, picking the only outfit that was available; my jeans and everything else I wore on Saturday. I really have to go shopping. I should probably have to take Jessica or Angela to Port Angeles' mall. I had never really tried shopping therapy before, but I guessed it wouldn't hurt too much. Come to think of it, maybe I should only take Angela; she was easier to hang out with plus she never asked questions she knew would make me uncomfortable. Jessica on the other hand seemed only to tolerate me due to my fame as the new girl in school.

I got dressed and headed to the basement. I stood in the middle of the room feeling a bit uncertain and foolish about what I was doing. I brought my hands in front of me as my father had shown me. Keeping my emotions under control wasn't as hard as I thought, maybe due to the numbness that had taken over my body.

I focused in calling fire and suddenly I felt my palms going hot; not in a bad way like scorching but in a vivid way like every fibber of my body was welcoming this new sensation. I saw the orb forming between my hands and I felt so surprised that it fluttered and almost disappeared. I focused harder and the orb went back to its former state. I stood like that for a period of time that could have been anything between half to two hours.

Finally, I felt I had it under control; like it was forever a part of me, waiting dormant to be discovered. I parted my palms and created two orbs of blazing fire in each; I threw them to the other side of the room and then created two more and repeated my previous actions. I soon was throwing jets of fire from my hands and had managed to light fire and make mini eruptions of flame -I didn't dare to do anything in larger scale- without moving my hands. I was proud of myself and I almost felt I was enjoying the whole process. Well, _almost_. I took a look at my watch; seven ten. Oops.

I ran upstairs, grabbed my books from the library, shoved them into my bag, grabbed my keys from the kitchen counter along with my cell and headed for the garage. When I opened the door of my truck, I realized I had left the window open in my bedroom; due to my speed I was back in the garage fifteen seconds after I closed it. I drove to school pushing my truck over sixty miles for the first time; I got what Jacob meant; the engine made a sound like it was dying. I growled (I actually growled) and went back bellow sixty. I also needed a new car; if Edward was here he would have a laugh fit out of it. Thinking of him of course almost made me lose my concentration, a seemingly impossible feat, given my new flawless reflexes.

Once again I tried not to think about him -unsuccessfully of course. Thankfully I was a bit distracted by arriving at school. It had only taken me ten minutes, a record time especially since I was driving my truck. As a result I arrived early. I took a look at my face at the truck's mirror. My glow was off, but my eyes were gold. I quickly turned them brown, relieved no one had seen me. I wondered how my classmates would react to the new me and it seemed that I would very soon find out. Ben, Angela, Lauren, Mike, Jessica and Tyler had seen my truck and were coming to meet me. I once again found it irresistible to listen to their thoughts; I was far too curious to resist.

'_Oh no, the bitch is back.'_ No surprise from Lauren then. Not that I expected any.

'_Bella is back. Well, haven't really missed her__.'_ Jessica thought. No surprise there either; I had pretty much figured her feelings towards me by myself.

'_I'm happy she's back. Maybe now I might have a descent conversation instead of an interrogation.'_ Angela thought. _'I hope she feels better now. She's such a nice girl. If only I could get my hands on that bastard Edward Cullen I would…'_ Enough form Angela. I was really happy she actually liked me, but I was also really trying not to think about Edward, even if I was unsuccessful at it.

Ben's thoughts were quite the same as Angela's. Mike and Tyler were hoping for a date. Great, just great! And they hadn't even seen my new looks yet. With one last look at thee mirror to make sure I wasn't glowing or anything, I took a deep breath to calm myself and stepped out of the car. Their minds were all in a similar state and in the beginning all I could sense was their emotions; awe. Then the first barely coherent thoughts made their appearance. Thoughts like; _'Who is she?'_, _'No way, this_ _can't be Bella'_ and '_Do angels walk the earth?'_

I decided it was time to speak; "Hi, guys. Long time no see." I could hear the boys thinking something like; '_Oh God she is hot!'_ Ben, to my relief, added _'but you love_ _Angela, so chill.' _I really didn't want Angela to turn against me. She was genuinely happy I looked so good, while Jessica and Lauren wanted to attack me.

I spend all my time until lunch break trying to explain them that all the changes in me were due to the fact that I grew up during the past two moths. Of course controlling their emotions helped a lot too. I also had to cut out all the thoughts coming from the male population of the school, students and teachers alike, in order to keep my last remaining fractions of sanity intact. Thankfully, my new abilities in memorizing hadn't failed me; I was able to catch up to the lessons in no time; I even understood trig.

At the end of lunch break I approached Angela.

"Hey, Angela can I have a word?"

"Sure!"

"I know it has been quite a while, but I was wondering if you would like to go shopping with me in Port Angeles today after school. I'm in real need for some new clothes." I explained.

She was truly happy with my proposition, I could tell. So it really wasn't a surprise when she answered;

"I would really like to go! Would you like me to pick you up at four?"

"Sure, but I kind of moved out of my house…" I gave her my new address and fed her with the whole 'my aunt Theresa from Australia died' story. After I convinced her she said she would be at my house at four sharp.

After I drove myself home, I called Charlie to let him now I was fine and that I would be shopping with Angela. He sounded even more excited than I was about me going shopping, though he did warn me to be home early since it was a school night. I ran to the basement to practice some more, although I was pretty confident I had fire under control. Faster than I expected, it was four and I heard the doorbell ring. I ran upstairs, not having dropped one single beard of sweat although I was practicing with fire for more than an hour.

"I'm sorry Bella but I had to bring my mother's SUV. My car broke down last week…" Angela said apologetically looking at my house wide-eyed as I observed her mother's green SUV.

"Don't worry, Angela. We will need all that extra space; I intend to buy as many clothes as I can get my hands on. And not only clothes." I added. She seemed excited we would spend all that money shopping even if it wasn't for her. I don't know if it was because of my new power over emotions, but her excitement was getting to me. Maybe a girls' day out was going to do me some good after all.

One hour twenty minutes and several comments about how good I looked later, we arrived at Port Angeles. The first stop we actually made was a car shop; I ordered a Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren Roadster in dark blue, that looked too good to be true and had a top speed of 240 miles per hour. Ostentatious or not, I couldn't care less; I was supposed to be a rich heiress anyways. Angela was thrilled and to my surprise so was I. I finally understood the need for speed. They had to order the car from Seattle of course, but with some extra money I 'persuaded' them to have it ready in two days.

Our next stop was a music shop, where I bought a huge stereo for my room and all the CD's I would ever need. The stereo was loaded in Angela's mom SUV without any effort from our side, since the shop owner seemed a little too eager to help me carry it. As a result when we entered the mall, Angela was still giggling. She was enjoying this too much for my own good;

"Did you see his face?" she asked. "I thought he would pass out when you smiled at him."

"I thought so too." I admitted, trying to ignore the looks some boys were giving me. Thankfully Angela hadn't noticed them, so she was running out of excuses to giggle even more; she concentrated on shopping instead.

Two hours later, we were taking our last purchases for the day to the SUV. Its trunk was already full, so we stuffed the clothes in the back seats along with the stereo and the CDs.

"That was the best day in a mall ever!" Angela exclaimed and I was happy she enjoyed herself so much. I had decided to buy her some clothes too and after some persuasion she caved; now she was delighted she had done so.

"I'm really hungry however." She admitted. "Do you mind if we eat something here?"

"No, I don't mind. Just under one condition."

"Sure, anything." She said.

"You will let me pay."

"But you already bought me all of these clothes!"

"Yeah, but you helped me fight off all those weirdoes and gave me a ride here. You know my car wasn't up to it, at least not in one tank of gas." I insisted.

"Well if you put it that way…" I looked at her with pleading eyes. "Oh, all right! Just take that look off your face. It's unfair…"

"Thanks Angela!" I exclaimed. I had really enjoyed just hanging out with a friend for an afternoon. It made pretending that my life wasn't miserable easier.

"Okay but I have one condition too. We will eat Italian!" She said. I almost forgot to breathe. The only Italian restaurant in the area was one called 'La Bella Italia', the same restaurant me and Edward had gone to the last time I was in Port Angeles, only a few months ago, but in what seemed to be an other life; a happier one.

A candle that was lit inside a restaurant we were passing by, melted in less than a second as fire consumed it and a waiter tried to put out the fire that had started on the table with a confused and terrified look on his face; I focused and the fire stopped. I really had to keep my feelings under control. Setting shops ablaze was sure not the best way to end a shopping trip. Angela remembered too, after she saw the anguished expression on my face, thankfully not noticing the scene inside the restaurant as we walked away.

"Oh my! Sorry Bella, I completely forgot!" She apologized. I decided I wasn't going to make her unhappy too so I said;

"No, really it's okay. Let's go!" I said trying to hide the pain. I listened to her thoughts; she was actually cursing Edward. "I mean it Angela. I can't hide from the world forever." Basically I could, I wanted to, but it wouldn't help my parents. I listened to her thoughts again and I was happy at least _she_ had believed what I had said. As we approached the restaurant I kept the conversation to painless subjects and especially Angela's relationship with Ben. At least I thought it would be painless, but though I really was glad their relationship was still holding, it seemed somehow surreal that love was still a part of this world.

We entered the restaurant and I tried not to break to hysterics. It really wouldn't do me any good. To my despair the host was male today. He was around twenty and seemed to take an interest in me; just what I needed… Angela noticed too and started giggling again; at least one of us was having fun.

"Table for two?" He asked as sweetly as he could. I smiled a completely fake smile and nodded. He seemed a bit disorientated for a couple of seconds, but he snapped out of it and asked us to follow him. Thankfully, he didn't give us the same table as last time. I don't think I would have survived that. I thanked him and he left to call a waiter with a goofy smile on his face.

"At least _he_ didn't pass out." Angela said, now laughing. I snorted as I replayed the scene in my mind again; although Angela had joked that the music shop owner was going to fade, I hadn't paid much attention to her. My mistake.

About one hour ago, we were in the lingerie section of the mall -I made a mental note to avoid Victoria's Secret in the future- and Angela had persuaded me to try on some very exposing lingerie made of blue lace. She insisted that I should buy them and I emerged from behind the dressing room's curtain to give her a piece of my mind while wearing them. What I hadn't counted on was the fact that a boy our age was at the moment walking right in front of the dressing room. When he saw me he at first went tomato red and then completely white. Then he passed out. He woke up two minutes later, mumbling incoherent stuff about angels and love at first sight. Huh! It looked more like stroke at first sight to me than anything else. After that incident Angela insisted I should buy the underwear, so I did, along with some equally exposing pieces of lingerie mostly in black, red and blue.

The waiter was also male; just my luck. After he dropped his pen twice, he finally took our orders and left to hyperventilate in the kitchen. I was having a weird sense of déjà vu. The rest of the dinner went as pleasant as it could go. I hadn't eaten anything in over four days, but I wasn't hungry at all. The food however, held a more intense flavor than ever.

The chatting around silly and unimportant things went on for the whole ride home. Angela helped me carry the bags inside the house, while I was having fun pretending they were heavy. She left ten minutes later, saying she had to do her homework, but only after I promised to take her with me when I was going to Port Angeles for my new car two days later; I complied happily.

After she left I changed to my normal -if you could call it that- appearance, felling the soreness in my eyes disappearing and called Charlie and Renee assuring them I was perfectly fine. My ability to lie had improved dramatically since I became immortal. I quickly did my homework; it didn't take more than an hour to complete. I took all the bags to my bedroom and then I also carried the stereo and the CD's.

I hurriedly put all my clothes in the closet. It wasn't even close to full, even if I now had more clothes than my previous closet -not even combined with the one back in Florida- could ever take. I plugged in the stereo and realized I hadn't bought a stand for the CD's; I would have to use the bookcase, even if my room started to dangerously resemble _his_.

I quickly brushed my teeth, took a shower and changed to my new blue nightgown, which was probably silkier, shorter and well… bluer than it would be had I chosen it myself. But Angela thought it suited me; she had persuaded me to buy the same design in all the available colors. Come to think of it I believe she took advantage of my lack of experience in shopping to get me into buying everything she liked. However I should give it to her; I did look good in the clothes she picked.

I opened the window again and let the scented wind in the room; the pines of the forest smelled amazing, but since today the sky was far cloudier than yesterday -a typical day at Forks- the view just couldn't compare to that perfect moonlet night.

I slid under the covers and emptied my mind. The day was over and I hadn't reduced the town to ashes. It was time for my next elemental power. I was soon back in the cave, facing my parents.


	7. Of Earth, Water And Laurent

Hey, it's me again! First of all let me thank all of my readers and reviewers for there support; you brighten my day, no scratch that out, my month with those reviews! And since some questions came up with your reviews I realized I should probably use this author note to answer them separately -something that I had never done before and must admit that truly makes me happy ^_^!

**Affarie Ava Mai;**That's my favorite car by far! I needed Bella to have a fast car for a future chapter I have in mind and since I couldn't get one in real life -sighs- I decided to give to Bella in this story.

**Sol Swan Cullen; **No, you're right, Alice can't see Bella and I'm actually going to base a chapter in that fact.

**Acullen 4evr; **Don't worry, no offence taken! On the contrary, I really appreciate you took the time to pin point my mistakes, since now I will be able to fix them! I'm also really glad you like my narration; I have never written a story in first person before and it has taken me quite some time to write properly… so thank you for noticing!

**Irene90;** Yup, as you will see Bella will get her powers gradually, but I will speed up the process a little from now on!

Wow, that must have been my larger AN yet! Anyways, in this chapter I'm introducing the wolves and Laurent in the story… The Cullens won't come back just yet, but I'm getting everything in motion for their return. Also in this chapter, I used the lyrics of a song that just seemed perfect for the occasion, at least to me, so I hope you'll like it too. Anyways, enough of my bubbling and on with the story! And don't forget; reviews make me happy!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer. Also, the lyrics of the song included in this chapter belong to the band 'Within Temptation'.

**OF ****EARTH, WATER AND LAURENT. **

_I slid under the covers and emptied my mind. The day was over and I hadn't reduced the town to ashes. It was time for my next elemental power. I was soon back in the cave, facing my parents. _

I walked towards my parents, smiling at them. My mother looked as happy as always, but my father had a strange look on his flawless face.

"Hi mom, hi dad." I said still looking at my father. I couldn't help asking; "Dad, are you all right? Is something wrong?" My mother turned to look at him with a confused expression on her face too.

"Nothing is wrong; I'm just looking at what you're wearing. Isn't it a bit short?" My mother and I broke to uncontrollable laughter; Ouranos was acting more daddy-like than ever.

"It's just my nightgown. You won't see me wearing it outside anytime soon." I explained between giggles.

"Ow." Was all he managed to say, still looking dubiously at the nightgown, almost like he was willing it to lengthen. Me and my mother started laughing again, our laughter sounding like singing, echoing inside the vastness of the cave.

After we both regained our composure, I started telling them everything that had happened that day; my control over fire, my shopping trip to Port Angeles, my new car and even the reaction of the male population around me, including the fading incident at the mall. I did however spare my father from describing the lingerie I bought. My mother nodded in understanding, while my father frowned again, muttering something about 'stupid mortals' under his breath, sending me and my mother into fits of laughter for the third time in less than ten minutes.

"Despite everything," Ouranos said "I couldn't be happier about you control over fire. Your mother and I had considered the possibility you might control your abilities faster than expected and we want to try something."

"Try what?" I asked, feeling curious and a tiny bit confused.

"We considered the possibility to unlock two of your powers at the same time." Gaia explained. I was thrilled.

"Really?" I shrieked, making my dad chuckle for a change.

"Yes, really." He answered. "We were considering earth and water."

"Let's try it then!" I said eagerly. "We have nothing to lose. Even if I realize I can't control them, I will skip school for one day."

"Although I strongly object you skipping school, there are more important things at stake here than algebra." Gaia agreed.

"It seems we have an agreement." Ouranos said. "Then I should probably explain what those two elements are capable of. Take water for example; what you have to do in the beginning you already know; it's the same you did with fire. Create one single orb and focus until you can handle it. What is different this time is that water gives you more to control than fire. You can create water as you did with fire, but you can also use water in the form of ice. What is more, you have the power to control the oceans; produce tidal waves or calm the seas, all in a proportion of course; you won't be able to evaporate an ocean for example. Finally, you can cause rainfalls and snowfalls or hailstorms to start or seize. You can't however create clouds yet, since that requires control over the element of air." He explained.

I was speechless. I tried to find my voice but it seemed to elude me, so I simply stared at my father trying to realize what I had heard. My mother smiled at me encouragingly. "Don't worry sweetheart. This might seem too much right now, but earth and water are easier to control than fire, which is, let's say, more volatile." I took in a sharp breath and motioned my father to continue.

"Earth is as bit as complicated as water." He said. "At first you will do the exact same thing you did with fire; the orb produced will have a vibrant green color. When you get the hang of it you will be able to control not only the soil and ground of the earth, but plants and metals as well. You will be able to create trees and plants and make vegetation around you thrive or decay. You will also be able to create chasms in the ground, make rocks and metals emerge from the earth and even cause earthquakes."

I was now gapping at him; this was too much and I was experiencing something I could only characterize as an information overload. "Don't worry Bella." My mother reassured me once again. "We know you can handle it, we have faith in you. You are stronger than you can comprehend or than you give yourself credit for. And you don't have to worry; having the power to do something doesn't mean you have to. For example, there is no need to cause an earthquake or a tidal wave."

I did manage to relax a bit after that. I looked at them and smiled. "I will do the best I can; I promise." They both smiled at me.

"Then you should better get going." Ouranos said. "If you manage to control those powers, the next one in line is air. And you know what that means."

"Flying!" I exclaimed.

"Exactly!" My father said smiling lovingly at my reaction.

"See you tomorrow night then! Love you!" I said as felt consciousness claiming me. The last thing I saw before I opened my eyes was their smiling faces. I was up in less than a second after I woke. It was two fifteen in the morning. I ran to the bathroom following my daily routine of combing my hair and brushing my teeth and headed for the closet. I picked a new pair of dark blue jeans and a satin black, long sleeved, v-neck blouse. I paired it with my new knee length boots and ran to the basement.

I decided to start with water; I concentrated and summoned the element in a small orb between my palms, faster than I had done with fire. I once again had the sensation of finding a long lost friend once the orb appeared. The orb itself was crystal clear water with chips of ice floating around it. I followed the same procedure as I had done with fire only this time after I finished with water erupting from my hands, I did the same with ice; by the time I decided I had gotten the hang of it, the basement looked like Antarctica, minus the penguins.

I continued with earth. A few minutes after creating a bright green orb, I was conjuring plants and having them grow inside the room, bringing metals in the surface of the earth, crashing stones and putting them back together again. By the time I was finished the basement looked nothing like its old self; if it looked like Antarctica before, it had now taken the identity of the Amazon forest. Vines of various plants and thick grass were its prominent features. I willed the basement to regain its former state as I looked at my watch; six thirty. That was faster than I had expected.

Swiftly, I headed upstairs and packed my staff. Once I made sure that I had taken everything I needed, that the window was closed this time and that I hadn't forgotten anything trivial like for example my eyes gold as I had done yesterday, I headed towards my truck.

Even if I had done everything in human speed, it was still only a quarter to seven; I had plenty of time to kill. It was the worst possible scenario; when I had nothing to keep me busy, there was nothing to prevent me from thinking of Edward. The hole in my chest threatened to make a vicious comeback so I headed back to the basement and trained for another thirty minutes, not that it was necessary. Now with only minutes to spare, I ran to my truck and pushed it to its limits again, arriving to school ten minutes early. Tomorrow I would have a new car so I wouldn't have to worry about my truck dying on me, something that was definitely happening judging from the sounds coming from the engine.

The day in school was uneventful if you excepted the bewildered looks I still received. Angela had told Ben about my new car and he was as thrilled as her. Lauren was almost crazy with jealousy and so was Jessica, but I couldn't care less. After I repeated my promise to Angela to take her with me when I got my car, I headed home.

I parked the car and entered the house. I really had nothing urgent to do, so I picked my homework from my bag and went to my room. I changed into my nightgown and crawled on the bed to study, the window open again. An hour and ten minutes later, I had finished my homework and I tried to find something else to occupy myself with, before painful memories invaded my mind. I decided to listen to some of the CDs I had bought the day before.

A title instantly caught my attention; the song was called 'Angels' by Within Temptation; it looked harmless enough. The melody started and for five seconds I felt I could make this work. Of course my optimism lasted exactly for that long; five seconds, because that was when the lyrics started;

**Sparkling angel I believe****d  
You were my saviour in my time of need  
Blinded by faith I couldn't hear  
All the whispers, the warnings so clear  
I see the angels  
I'll lead them to your door  
There's no escape now  
No mercy no more  
No remorse cause I still remember  
**

**The smile when you tore me apart  
You took my heart  
Deceived me right from the start  
You showed me dreams  
I wished they'd turn into real  
You broke a promise and made me realize  
It was all just a lie**

Sparkling angel, I couldn't see  
Your dark intentions, your feelings for me  
Fallen angel, tell me why?  
What is the reason, the thorn in your eye?  
I see the angels  
I'll lead them to your door  
There's no escape now  
No mercy no more  
No remorse cause I still remember

**The smile when you tore me apart  
You took my heart  
Deceived me right from the start  
You showed me dreams  
I wished they'd turn into real  
You broke a promise and made me realize  
It was all just a lie**

Could have been forever  
Now, we have reached the end

This world may have failed you  
It doesn't give the reason why  
You could have chosen a different path in life

The smile when you tore me apart  
You took my heart  
Deceived me right from the start  
You showed me dreams  
I wished they'd turn into real  
You broke a promise and made me realize  
It was all just a lie  


**Could have been forever.  
Now****, we have reached the end.**

By the time the song ended I was crying my heart out again. Is that what's in store for me from now on? An immortality of tears? This was simply impossible; the song was supposed to take my mind off things that remind it me of him. Instead, it had managed to summarize all I felt for Edward, _my_ angel, and how he had made me suffer during the past two and a half months. How he left me and took my dreams and my will to live with him.

As I was crying, outside suddenly started raining and deep down I knew I was the one who had caused it. The hole in my chest was pulling me straight to its darkness and I lacked the strength and maybe even the will to fight back. I must have stayed like this, in my very own personal version of hell for about an hour, even if each second that went by seemed to last for an eternity.

I was sinking deeper and deeper in my misery when a scent that was hard not to identify reached me carried on the wind; the scent of a vampire. Instantly, I knew it wasn't Edward; I would have recognized his scent anywhere.

I wiped my tears and tried to regain my composure. It wasn't easy but since I understood this unknown vampire wasn't Edward, I couldn't be certain somebody's life wasn't in danger. I walked to the mirror and projected the place were the scent was coming from. It took me a couple of seconds to pin point the exact location, since the vampire was moving but once I did, I froze into place just by his mere reflection on the mirror; Laurent. I knew I was no longer in need to be afraid of him, but his face was tied with some of the worst and best memories of my life, since Edward was with me at the time.

I had to work out a plan fast, before he needed to hunt again. My mother had warned me about this. I had to lay low; if a goddess was seen near Forks the cursed ones would inevitably do the math and I had to keep my identity a secret if I wanted to break my parents out. One small part of my mind snorted at the cliché phrase I had used; 'secret identity…'. I sounded like a bad superhero movie.

Main point, my powers were out of the list in possible ways of dealing with Laurent issue. All right then Bella, use what you have; the werewolves. The moment I even considered that thought a wave of protective feelings filled the hole in my chest. It took me about a second to realize why; although I hadn't seen him in months, Jacob Black in my head was still under the classification 'friends'. And the list of that category was far too short to jeopardize one of its members.

I shook my head in despair; it really was unnecessary to worry that much. Jacob was a part of a large pack and he was chasing Laurent already. I would be practically doing the wolves a favor, giving them the chance to attack Laurent instead of being ambushed by him and Victoria together. I imagined a pack of six horse-sized wolves against Laurent and I liked what I was seeing; Laurent was in over his head.

So it was a deal. Now all I had to do was lead him to the wolves. I projected their location; they were all together in a distance of ten miles from Laurent's location and they had already caught his scent. But he was moving to the west fast. If I didn't stall him he would escape. I hastily checked on Victoria to make sure she wasn't anywhere near; she appeared to be in an urban area, maybe Seattle, but I couldn't be sure. Anyways, even if Victoria in a city really was bad news, at least she wasn't anywhere near to interfere with my plan.

I had to run. I hastily changed from my nightgown to a light brown sweater-dress that left my shoulders bare, defined my body's every curve and was long enough to almost reach my knees. Angela had chosen it for me and as a result it also allowed some cleavage. I had a feeling my father would appreciate it just as much as my nightgown. I put my boots on once again and pulled my hair back to a messy bun, leaving some strand locks cascade freely around my face. Vampires might be easily distracted creatures, but I wasn't taking any chances; as much as the mere thought made me sick, he was male after all.

I had no time to go all the way round the house so I took a shortcut right out of the window; I landed gracefully on the balls of my feet, a task that would have been impossible for my old self. I made sure I wasn't glowing and the soreness in my eyes told me they were brown. I started a flat out ran, aiming to appear just in frond of Laurent. I figured it would be more natural if he was the one to find me instead of the other way around.

The forest suddenly appeared more familiar around me, but I couldn't understand why. Due to being prone to accidents, I was never really close to nature as a human. I realized I was getting closer to Laurent so I made as less noise as possible and tried to stay in the opposite direction from where the wind was blowing. I didn't smell edible and I didn't want my scent to confuse him. I saw a light coming from between the trees about two hundred yards in frond of me; I was reaching a clearing. As I stepped in that clearing it hit me.

_Of course_ I remembered this part of the forest, how could I forget? I was in _his _meadow. A sharp pain tore my chest in half, but I had to prioritize; stop Laurent first, drown in grief later. So I positioned my self in a location Laurent would notice me but that was still in the opposite direction of the wind. Seconds later Laurent appeared. He was just as I remembered him, his olive skin shimmering in the dim light and his bright red eyes that spoke of hundreds of murders still as aggressive as always.

Then he noticed me. I was, in a way, glad to realize I had the same impact on him as I had on humans of his gender. He was looking at me bewildered as I tried to look scared and surprised. I had to force those feelings to appear on my face, because in order to protect myself mentally I had slipped into a state of emotional numbness once again.

As he took a few steps towards me his face started showing some hints of recognition. I listened to his thoughts, leaving at the same time a small part of my mind open to notify me when the wolves approached.

'_No, this can't be her. She certainly looks a bit like Bella, but so much better. And those curves… But if she was turned into a vampire maybe…__ Nah! I have never seen a vampire look like she does, plus I can hear her heart beating. Darn she looks hot…'_

His mind was failing him; he was definitely overworking it trying to figure out who I was. I figured it was time to step in. I intentionally made my voice shaky and simply spoke his name.

"Laurent?"

"Unbelievable!" He said, a dreamy expression on his face. "You are Bella!" He took another step closer and I heard him thinking; _'The hell with Victoria. I'm keeping Bella for me. It was time I got myself a mate. Who needs Irina after all?'_

A mate! And here I was, thinking that vampires couldn't dream. The mere idea repulsed me but at least I found out I was right; Victoria and Laurent really were after me. I tried to distract him;

"What are you doing here?"

"To tell you the truth I was looking for you. You turned out to be hard to find though." He had a completely idiotic expression on his face as he spoke and I wanted to punch him so badly. It probably wouldn't be in my best interest; if I sent him flying a mile back, he might have gotten a hint about me not being human and all.

"Why were you looking for me?" Like I didn't already know.

"That is of no importance right now. Not any more at least." He was smiling foolishly as he moved closer. Okay, maybe I had over-distracted him. "What is important is you; how comes Edward let you come in the middle of the forest all by yourself?" Of course he had to bring _that_ up. Why should I get a break from my misery? What could I say? He took off almost three months ago, leaving me back to die?

"We're not like that anymore." I said. There! A viable answer.

"What a pity!" he said grinning like a maniac, while thinking _'What an idiot! Edward looked smarter than that. Except if she left him… Yeah that must be it! The better for me!'_ I wanted to scream; _me_ leaving Edward. Who in their right minds would do that?

"Look, I shouldn't be here, I have to go." I must have sounded scared enough.

"Why rush? Anyways I should probably inform you that Victoria is looking for you too. That's why I'm here; she asked for a favor. She wants to kill you, you know; nothing personal. She wants revenge from Edward for killing James. Don't worry however, I have other plans…" So Victoria thought she could hurt Edward by killing me. How deluded she was. Then I heard it;

"_Jake are you sure this is where the scent comes form?"_

"_For the fifth time Paul, yeah, this is where the bloodsucker is. Ask me again and I'll hit you, I swear."_ A familiar husky voice replied.

"_I'm not doubting you or anything Jake; it's just that there is this other scent in the air; it smells so good it almost covers the bloodsucker's stench. I have never smelled anything like it."_ The first voice of the guy named Paul said.

"_He is right you know."_ A third voice told Jacob. "_I haven't smelled anything like it either. I would swear it is flowers, but they aren't supposed to smell that strong."_

"_Sure, sure. It does smell amazing Sam, but don't lose focus; we are here for the bloodsucker. It does smell oddly familiar though…"_ Jacob told him.

The werewolves were approaching; they would be here in seconds. I just had to stall Laurent for a bit more. "What other plans?"

"Well you see I just came back from Denhali to help Victoria get to you, but I changed my mind. You, Miss Swan, look beyond beautiful; it would be such a waste to kill you. So I thought that maybe you and I could…" And then the wind shifted; my scent that was so much praised by the werewolves reached his nostrils. It must have been strong because he took a step back dazzled. His thoughts were incoherent, but he seemed to find my scent irresistible too. Not eatable, but simply irresistible. My father was right once again; our scent does hold some sort of attraction on both werewolves and vampires.

It no longer mattered anyways, because the wolves made their appearance. At first they looked at Laurent and were ready to attack. Then they looked at me and forgot all about him; why did those specific werewolves had to be males?

'_Bella?'_ Jacob thought.

'_You know her?'_ All the others thought, jealousy coming from every pore of their body. Even three wolves, one black, now identified as Sam and two others who's names I didn't know, showed some interest, not as much as the others of course, although I could hear in their thoughts that they had imprinted.

Then, thankfully, Laurent made the wrong movement; he reached to grab me and make a run for it. That brought them back to reality; they growled at him and launched, leaving him no time to move towards me. With one last look at me, Laurent started running for his life with the wolves right behind him. That was close.

I ran back to my house, not wanting to spend one more second in the meadow. Two minutes later, I had run the twelve miles back home; I jumped in through the window and went for my mirror; I at first tried to check on Laurent. Nothing came on the mirror. One person less to worry about. Then I checked on the pack; they had morphed into humans again and where back in La Push. They were all unharmed; it had taken them less time than I had thought it would. I had to give it to them; they were good.

And they were talking about me;

"You know who she was Jake?" Paul asked.

"I think she is Bella Swan, you know, Chief Swan's daughter. We met a few months ago."

"I think we should go check her out; just to make sure she is all right. After all she did meet a leach and us in one day." The unidentified werewolf that had imprinted said.

"Just make sure she is all right Quil? Sure. Now we believed you; aren't you supposed to have imprinted anyways?" Jacob said. So his name was Quil? Funny name.

"And I don't think the leach was a surprise to her; she was with Edward Cullen before they left." Sam added. That had hurt; I _was_ with him. Past tense.

"What a waste… Hey! The Cullens left! And she's still here! That means she is not with him anymore." Paul gets the prize for the most insensitive and obvious comment ever; it's official.

"Dream on, Paul…" Jacob said, but I just couldn't take any more of that conversation. I was spent.

I went to the bathroom and filled the tub with hot, almost boiling, water. I took off my clothes and got in; I started crying and just couldn't stop. It was already hard to go on _without_ constant reminders of how my life was when Edward was with me. Being in the meadow, _his_ meadow the place I once wanted to call ours, made the fact that he was gone so much more final. And on top of it all, I was soon going to get a visit from a pack of werewolves that I was supposed to avoid. Some goddess I am!

When I exited the bathroom, it was already dark. I changed back to my nightgown and slid under the covers of my bed. Maybe a visit to my parents would help me short things out. At least that was what I was whishing with all my heart as I drifted to sleep.


	8. Of Air, Thunder And Illusions

Hi, it's me again; Sorry for the late update… I had to study for my exams :p… Sucks, I know, but hey; I'm back with a new chapter! So, as always, I would like to thank my reviewers for all their encouragement; you rock! And just to answer a question that had been addressed;

**Affarie Ava Mai;** Yup, the wolves are definitely paying a visit to Bella, but I won't tell you if they will find out about her yet… You'll just have to wait and see! ^_^

Now, this chapter contains an event of the original 'New Moon' storyline, with a twist… I just couldn't resist putting it here! With no further annoying comments from me, on with the story! 

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**OF ****AIR, THUNDER AND ILLUSIONS.**

_When I exited the bathroom, it was already dark. I changed back to my nightgown and slid under the covers of my bed. Maybe a visit to my parents would help me short things out. At least that was what I was whishing with all my heart as I drifted to sleep._

My parents were looking at me with a worried expression. Gaia was the one to speak first;

"What is wrong Bella? We could feel your pain from down here…"

I really wanted to fall into her arms but I knew I couldn't. All I could do was stare at her. Tears started welling behind my eyes and I just was unable to hide them anymore; I felt so hopeless. So I just fell on my knees and broke down right in frond of them. They both ran near me and kneeled on the ground unable to touch me.

"It is all going to be alright, Bells." My father told me. "You know you can tell us everything, anything!" A small and still half-sane part of me agreed with my father's reasoning; I could tell them and they would understand. At least I had that much of hope still. But even that part of my life was clouded over due to the trivial thing that was their imprisonment. Stupid little details. Those thoughts of course brought a new wave of tears crushing and shaking me to my core.

It took me over thirty minutes to calm my self enough to find my voice. Then I explained everything; the song, the meadow, Laurent's and Victoria's plan to kill me and the reason behind it, Laurent's death and even the future visit I expected from the werewolves.

They shared a moment just looking at each other and for a few tandalising seconds I thought they might be hiding something from me. I shook that thought immediately; whatever it was I trusted them completely. Due to my new ability to control and understand emotions, I could sense their feelings towards me; besides the pain and worry they were feeling for my despair, I could sense their love for me and it reached immeasurable lengths.

For the first time since I was reunited with them I realized they had been waiting for me, here in a dark cave, imprisoned, for eighteen years. I vowed I would never hurt them again by letting them see me brake down. I rose from the ground and stood still, setting a look of pure serenity on my face; it was a façade alright, but I wouldn't let my pain affect them any more. They looked at me bewildered, not understanding the reason behind my sudden change.

I smiled at them encouragingly. "I'm better now, really. I just needed to get this out of my system. I'm ready for the rest of my powers now."

My father looked at me concerned; "Are you sure, Bella? This could wait for a couple of days."

"No, I'm sure." I said calmly. "Despite everything, I believe I did well with my powers and it would help if I had something important to do. Trust me I can handle it; we stay on schedule."

"But…" My father started only to be interrupted by my mother;

"You are right Bella." She looked at my father intently and he got the hint.

"If that is what you want Bella, we trust you. Air and thunder it is then." Ouranos said and I smiled at him, the perfect image of tranquility.

"You already know the beginning steps, so I'm not going to repeat them. Air basically allows you to control the winds and clouds; gather clouds, create tornadoes; it all will be in you hands. Controlling the winds will also give you the ability to fly. I should probably warn you that it is quite an overwhelming sensation; you will have to stay focused during the whole time." He warned me.

"Okay, I got it." I reassured him.

"Thunder, is basically the name we give to the power to control electricity. In the old days it only had to do with lightning and thunderstorms; trust me when I say, not a force to be reckoned with. However, since humans started depending so much on electric devices and computers, that power took on a different meaning. Now you can activate or deactivate electronic devices from afar or overload them. Really helps when you are chased by cars and want to stage an 'accident'. Trust me one that one; I've tried it." Ouranos said a sly grin making its appearance on his face.

"I guess it does." I said, too numb to feel the curiosity his statement would have otherwise ignited. "Is there anything else I should know? What do you want me to do with the werewolves?"

"That is definitely an issue; you said that they have already caught your scent. Well you can feign ignorance in that part. In any case, you are not supposed to know that you smell like that. As a matter of fact, feign ignorance and innocence for the whole part; you are not supposed to know they are werewolves anyways, so they're probably not going to ask you any questions as they are going to try to protect their secret." Gaia said.

"Well, Jacob has kind of already told me about their existence, but when he did he wasn't a member of the pack yet. Did you know they call themselves protectors too?" I stated in a soft voice, remembering a conversation that now seemed to have taken place in a different lifetime.

"Yeah, I remember something of such, for when we left you in Forks we did a little research on the surrounding area; at the time however, there were no werewolves. Anyways, that Jacob boy can't just tell you that he is a werewolf; he has to get the whole pack to agree first. And come to think of it as I said before, if I remember correctly -and I am sure I do- their gift skipped a generation. That means that none of them or their parents has ever actually met a god or a goddess. They will know the myths of course, but they won't be able to make the connection." Ouranos explained.

"I am afraid you should be heading back sweetheart." My mother said.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you for everything." I still sounded like a ghost of my self, but it was the best I could do. "I'll be back tomorrow night. Love you."

"Take care Bella. None of these matters if you are not happy." My mother whispered, sadness coloring her voice. They were bleary again, but I managed to make a promise before I left them, even if I didn't believe it;

"I will get happy, someday I will."

I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling, breathing in deep. Four in the morning; the whole crying my eyes out stand had prolonged my visit by a little. After getting dressed, I ran to the basement. I started with electricity, wanting to save as much time as possible to learn how to fly. After the familiar welcoming sensation I got when the bluish yellow orb made its appearance between my palms, I started the real training; I knew I had to be outside for a full scale test, yet throwing lightning from my hands was really something. Truly not a force to mess with.

Next in line was air that I managed to summon quicker than I had ever summoned an element in the past- in a small grayish blue orb. It might have been my yarning to try flying or my increased level of numbness, but in a matter of minutes, I was in control of it.

After creating clouds, mist and smaller scale tornado, I decided it was finally time to check out flying. I had forgotten to ask how I was supposed to do it so I followed the same procedure as I did with sleep. It wasn't really necessary; the moment I concentrated and thought about flying my feet left the ground. My father had told me it was overwhelming, but no word could ever describe the sensation. It felt like freedom, like the light breeze around me had created an invisible wall between me and all my troubles. I took a few spins around the room, dying to try it outdoors. After floating around for a while, a small and annoying voice in my head nudged me into remembering I was still a part of this world. I took a look at my watch; seven ten. I had to hurry.

I grabbed my bag and after changing my appearance and closing the window, I ran to the garage. I started the engine from outside the truck. That reminded me that today I was going to get my new car. Maybe that would be an excuse good enough to avoid the werewolves for a day.

I drove to school like a maniac, not caring if I pushed my truck too much. It took me about seven minutes to get there; my personal record.

Today would be my first gym since I got my powers; volleyball for the first time felt like a breeze. I ignored the bewildered looks I got –I was getting used to them by now anyways- and went to lunch break to meet Angela.

"Today is the day!" She said to me before I managed to utter a word. She was really excited about the car.

"Yep, today is the day. So are you going to pick me up at four?" I had decided to let her drive me so that I would get to drive my new car back.

"Sure! Do you mind me bringing Ben with me? I want him to drive my car back so I can ride with you… If you don't mind of course…"

"No, it's okay" I said smiling as brightly as I could. I really liked spending time with her. "I just hope he doesn't think we are cutting him out, what with leaving him drive your car back -alone for two hours while we will be riding a sports car- and all." I added arching my brow.

"Well I have already warned him, he can't say I did not. I haven't told him what car you bought of course. Maybe that is why he went so easy on me…" She admitted giggling.

"He will find out sooner all later." I said shrugging. Two hours later I was home, had already finished my homework and was waiting for Angela while levitating five inches from the floor. The phone rang; it was Charlie.

"Hi, Charlie."

"Hi, Bells. Long time no see." He said sounding a bit sad. I knew I shouldn't ignore him as I did, but my life hadn't been exactly normal lately. Then again, when had my life been normal since I moved in Forks?

"Yeah, I know, but I will make it up to you. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?" I would have to go buy groceries first of course. I hadn't bought anything while I was staying in my new house and I realized that had a slight chance of seeming weird to Charlie; but that's just me.

"Great!" He sounded happy and I was proud I could at least still be the reason for such a feeling. "That's not why I called you though; you will never guess. Jacob Black called." No, I could guess. Feign ignorance Bella. Feign ignorance.

"Really? What did he want? I haven't spoken to him in ages!" I should at least be nominated for an Oscar or something for my acting.

"He wanted to come visit, but I told him you moved and that you would be out of town this afternoon. He seemed really eager to see you." His investigative instincts kicked in once again.

"It is probably my fault. I had promised him to visit but I never got to." It wasn't completely a lie; I _had_ promised to see him and after all it was my fault.

"Even if that's the case, he might give you a call tomorrow. I gave him your phone number. I hope you don't mind." I didn't mind. On the contrary, I could really use the warning.

"No, it's okay." That's when I heard the horn of Angela's car outside. "Angela is here. I should get going."

"Sure, Bells. Be careful driving home."

"I will don't worry." Like something would happen to me if I crushed. Come to think of it, my car would be damaged and, even worse, Angela could get hurt, so I decided to be extra careful. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Bells."

I ran to Angela's car, well her mother's car, since hers was still broken, and sat on the back seat.

"Hi, Angela, Ben. So? Ready to take me to Port Angeles?" I asked winking at them.

"Sure thing!" Angela said exited.

"Of course we are. Could you just tell me what type of car you bought? Angela is driving me crazy; she hasn't even told me if it is European or American." Ben complained.

"Wait and see. It will be one hell of a surprise, I can guarantee." He tried to convince me all the way to Port Angeles but I kept silent. I wasn't annoyed; it felt nice to be distracted from more painful subjects. We reached the shop and Angela parked the car. The shop owner welcomed us, warmer than ever, and led us to the back of the shop. Once I saw my car I heard Ben gasping and whispering; "No way!"

He was right. Even if I knew nothing about cars, I could tell mine was one of the best. I signed the papers necessary and entered the car. I had chosen beige leather for the interior and it appeared to have been a wise choice from my part for a change. Ben was now protesting that Angela had tricked him into driving her car back. After I promised to give him a ride one of these days, he ruefully agreed to take Angela's car back and Angela and I hopped inside my newly acquired car.

"Angela, I hope you won't mind if I test the speed a bit." I said as we exited the city. The car had proved pure heaven to drive.

"Are you kidding me? Hit it!" Angela said with a huge smile on her face. I went up to 120 miles and Angela was yelping like she was in a rollercoaster. I wanted to go faster, but I knew she couldn't take it. I would wait till I dropped her home and then go for a real test drive. Twenty minutes later we were right outside Angela's house.

"This was absolutely amazing!" Angela shrieked as she exited the car, a bit awkward due to speed dizziness. "Can we do that again sometime?"

"Sure thing!" I said smiling. "I should probably head home. I still have some homework to do." I lied without feeling guilty this time; I really wanted to see how fast my car could go.

"Yeah, me too." She agreed. "See you at school." I whished her good night and headed back on the road. After driving in normal speed till I went beyond city limits, I put the engine to the test. It was amazing and I could feel the adrenaline pumping in my veins. I realized that if I was still human this would be a very dangerous situation to be in. The numbness I usually felt was almost gone and now I had full sense of the situation. Due to the lack of numbness I felt much more conscious of what I was doing than when I went after Laurent; 120, 140, 160…

I started getting an odd feeling in the back of my head. I ignored it and hit the gas pedal even more. I heard it when I reached 200. A voice that sounded so painfully clear in my head; _his_ voice.

"_Bella, slow down this instance!"_ I hit the break involuntarily and the car came to a standstill, the tires screeching on the asphalt. What was that? I looked around frantically, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I searched with my mind for thoughts, but I couldn't hear any; I was too far away from Forks to hear any thoughts and the forest around me was empty of humans or other supernatural creatures.

Then what was that voice? Could all the pain that I felt make my mind snap like this? I hoped not, but I couldn't help to feel anything but happy to hear his voice so clear again, even if it was nothing but an enraged illusion. I tried to understand what had caused it. I remembered hitting 200. I could remember the adrenaline pumping my blood faster and faster. And I could remember the funny feeling in my head.

Could this be it? Could my mind fabricate his voice to give me some comfort, to make me feel like he still cared if I was harmed or not? It sure beat the hell of my other possible explanation; that I was going crazy. And it was true this was the first time in months that I really got to sense danger.

I decided to put it to the test. I started the car again and hit the gas pedal. The car stared accelerating like before and adrenaline started running in my veins once again. This time I heard his voice once I hit 190.

"_Bella, keep your promise! Don't do anything reckless!"_ He sounded angry but I couldn't care less. I was hearing his voice again and that was enough.

I kept accelerating and the angry remarks from him kept pouring in. I kept like that for hours, lost in the pure bliss from hearing his voice. I looked at the car's clock; eleven thirty. I had to go home and see my parents. I turned abruptly, making him scream in my head and drove back home. I slowed down the car and to my despair his voice started fading. By the time I parked the car, his voice was once again a faint whisper in my head. A tear escaped the corner of my eye and wiped it away quickly.

I ran to my room hastily and fell to bed trying to empty my mind. I was too shocked for it to work. I ran to the bathroom, took off my clothes and let the hot water from the shower relax my muscles. Hot water always had that power over me and right now I was thankful about it. I tried to put my thoughts into order. I had to talk to my parents about what had happened. There was still the possibility that I had driven myself insane and in that case, they had to know.

I went back to my room, put on my nightgown and went back to bed. It took me more than usual, but ten minutes later I was losing grip of reality as unconsciousness claimed me.


	9. Of Moonlight And Werewolves

Hi there! Yup, it's me again… and I brought a new chapter with me. Firstly, let me thank all of you who reviewed my story; guys you rock! I couldn't have written all this without your support. So, thank you; big time! Anyways, allow me to answer some of your questions;

**Have a Miraculous Day;** don't worry, Edward will make his first appearance in a couple of chapters and, if I may say so, it was about time too!

**Twirl;** Well, your question will be answered in this chapter -I hope- so keep on reading!

**Irene90;** the voice is Edward's and still in a way isn't… But I'm confusing you, aren't I? He he he he, I guess you'll have to read this chapter and find out on your own.

**Affarie Ava Mai;** Actually, I was planning for a chapter -or, more likely, a part of a chapter- to be from Edward's point of view… You might just have to wait a little longer for it!

And that I believe settles everything! I hope I haven't forgotten to answer a question, but if I have, please don't be mad at me! (Insert puppy dog eyes here; I'm actually pretty good in giving others the 'I'm a lost and scared puppy' look, so I hope it worked on you guys too ^_^). But enough of me! With no further delay I give you -drum roll- the next chapter of this story!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**OF ****MOONLIGHT AND WEREWOLVES.**

_I went back to my room, put on my nightgown and went to bed. It took me more than usual, but ten minutes later I was losing grip of reality as unconsciousness claimed me. _

I saw my parents' faces and they were full of concern. I realized they were probably worried I would break down like I had done yesterday. I couldn't wait; I started telling them everything that had happened during my test drive before they managed to utter a word. I told them about Edward's voice and my explanation as to why I was hearing it. My parents had another one of those moments and I felt they were hiding something from me again. This time I tried to ask, but my mother talked stopping me.

"Don't worry; we don't believe you are getting crazy. We think that the adrenaline is what caused this incident." I once again felt that she was hiding something for me, or better, like she wasn't telling me the whole truth. But I believed the part where she said they didn't believe I was crazy and that had to suffice for now. If they thought they shouldn't tell me it was probably for a good reason, right? But I wasn't intending to let that go on for too long; the next time they shared a moment like that one, I would confront them.

"So, let's talk about your next power." My father said and I felt like he was trying to change the subject. "We decided that you should take light and darkness one at the time. They are too strong to endanger giving them to you at once, despite your control." I knew by then that he was trying to distract me but I reminded myself they had spent eighteen years in a cave and that acquiring my powers would set them free.

"We will start with darkness. Basically it gives you the ability to manipulate the shadows, create darkness too thick even for immortal eyes to pierce. But the most important power that comes with it is the power of the moon. It is highly destructive. It basically gathers the energy around you and channels it into a single blow. Its only back side is that it takes some seconds to charge. But when it does, well you will see for yourself soon. Once you get back, follow the procedure you did with the rest of your powers and then move on with the rest. I recommend you use the earth element to provide you some sort of target."

"Is this power really that strong?" I asked bewildered thinking, for example, of the brutal force I had encountered while training with fire.

"Yes, it is." My mother said. "Just imagine it gathers the strength of the moon and the stars, not to mention darkness. You should be very careful with it. Even your father barely uses it." She warned me. I found myself in agreement with her. The rest of my powers seemed to suffice as means of destruction.

"Now, you should head back, except if you have any questions." Ouranos said.

"Well, I have one, but it is not exactly about my powers." I hesitated for a moment, but I decided to ask anyway. "Before, when I was talking to you about the voice I heard, you seemed to hide something from me. I don't mean to pray, but I couldn't help wondering what it was."

"You are very observant sometimes." My father said smiling. For a second there, I thought he emphasized on 'sometimes', but I let it slip, wanting to hear the rest of his answer. "It's not really that we are hiding something from you though. It's just a theory we have, but we rather not tell you anything before we are sure. Once we are, I promise you will be the first to know." That was enough for me; I knew he would keep his promise.

"So I guess I will see you tomorrow." I said as they started to fade in a blur of colors.

"We will be here." My mother said, and although I whished they weren't imprisoned, I couldn't help feeling grateful that at least something was still stable in my life.

I woke up and looked at my alarm clock; two in the morning. That was fast. I sighed and got out of bed trying not to think anything -or anyone- in particular. Of course, given the new expansion of my mental abilities, I could think of many things at the same time, so it was basically a lost cause. That didn't mean I would give up. Ten minutes later I was in the basement, curious about how strong this new power was.

I concentrated and the orb appeared between my palms. The feeling of familiarity that washed over me was something I was getting used to by now. What surprised me was the intensity of the element; it was like that small orb radiated power enough to reach even my core. I watched the orb mesmerized; in the beginning it appeared to be something like a thick black cloud; nothing fancy. And then the dark cloud started whirling gently and a silver glow, so similar to moonlight, appeared from within. I was mystified; it was hard to think of anything else but that small orb.

I shook my head rapidly, trying to shake off the sensation. It worked and after a few short seconds I was fully concentrated again. It took me more than usual to get the feeling I had it under control. Once I did, I used the earth element to conjure a stone wall at the other side of the room. The wall rose from the ground with a rumbling sound and I prepared to hit it with my new power.

I called forth the element. Although I didn't see anything for a few seconds, I could feel the power gathering in my hands, stretching from my shoulders to my fingertips, to finally concentrate in my palms. I raised my hands in front of me aiming at the wall. Two things happened at the same time; at first, I saw a blinding silvery ray erupting from my palms with a swishing sound and heading for the wall. However, I didn't see the result firsthand, due to the second incident; the power was so immense that I was sent to the wall behind me, barely able to break my fall. I, however, did hear what had happened to the wall I had conjured seconds ago; the sound of the impact when the ray made an impact left few to be imagined.

I rose from the ground to see for myself. I was wrong. The stone wall hadn't collapsed; it had been simply reduced to pebbles. Oh joy! Pieces that were barely larger than sand. I had to catch my breath. I had managed to hold the ray only for something less than a second. What would happen if I had kept on going? I didn't even want to think about it. I conjured another wall and kept practicing; this was one power I simply _had_ to get under complete control.

At seven I had finally gotten the upper hand on it; I had learned to tame it and, after three long and slightly humiliating hours, I had actually managed to stand straight while I used it. I went to my car and headed to school. Watching the expressions of my classmates varying from extremely jealous to awed was simply hilarious. Of course the extra intensity of their glares did make me extra self conscious, but I fend it off trying to think about what I would cook for Charlie. By the end of school, after considering various alternatives, I had concluded to roast. I should probably keep it simple.

After school was over, I had to run to my car before the crowd surrounding it made it impossible for approach. I wanted to buy all the groceries I needed so that I could finish cooking before Charlie arrived. He always had a tendency to hurry when food was involved.

I parked outside of the groceries' store and thanked my good fortune no one was there to stare at me as I exited my car. I entered the store, waving at the cashier who was drooling all over the counter and went to buy vegetables. He seemed unsure whether to come talk to me or not, so I listened to his thoughts to make sure he was going to stay where he was. Maybe I should have ignored him from the very beginning. The moment I reached to his mind however, his thoughts were the last thing on my mind. Because, whilst trying to listen to what he was thinking, I intercepted a completely different type of conversation;

"_Jared, are you sure it was her?"_ Jacob asked.

"_I'm sure! Don't tell me you didn't catch her scent?"_

"_Sure I did… but don't you think we should wait to call her first?"_

"_And tell her what?"_ Embry asked sarcastically. _"Hi, Bella I don't know if you remember us, we are the wolves you saw in the woods yesterday. You know, the ones that chased the bloodsucker away?"_

"_Embry is right."_ Sam said. _"We change and go talk to her. That Laurent guy seemed too keen on taking her with him and we simply can't afford not to know why. We might need to tell her what we are of course, but I think she can handle it."_

"_Do you think it wise to tell a bloodsucker's lover what we are?"_ Paul asked worried. I hated how much they used the word 'bloodsucker' or maybe I was hurt about how much I wished for the second part of the sentence to still be true.

"_If we want to know what the other female wants then, yes, I think we have to." _Sam said.

"_Okay then, let's go."_ Jacob said, still a bit reluctant.

So the werewolves were coming here. I had two options; one, get in the car and drive home, but that might seem too suspicious. They might be prepared to tell me what they are, but I am most definitely was not. Option two; stay here and meet them, following my father's advice of feigning ignorance.

I had to stick with option two; they were too close now. I took a few long breaths to calm myself and I managed to regain my composure the moment they saw my car. Although they didn't seem to be able to mentally communicate while they weren't morphed, the same thought chorused in all of their minds;

'_Dude, nice car!'_ Boys will always be boys, no matter if they are human or not I guess.

They entered the store as I pretended to pick some apples. They all gasped when they show me; I turned around pretended to have just noticed them. They were all dressed similarly, with jeans and t-shirts, while they had no shoes on. I guess shoes are a bit hard to carry around when you are a six feet tall wolf. I, at first, was stricken about how big Jacob had gotten. Then I realized it must be a wolf thing, since all six of them were as big as he was. I feigned I had difficulties identifying him. Then I smiled at him and ran in for a hug.

"Jake! It's been so long! I'm so happy to see you!" That part wasn't a lie. I _was _happy to see him. He immediately made my day a bit brighter. His arms wrapped around my waist and I noticed for the first time just how warm he was; another wolf thing I venture. I raised my head to look at his face. He appeared to be blushing and had a huge grin on his face.

"Hi, Bells! It has really been a long time; since last summer if I remember correctly?" His words came out a bit fast and his voice trembled a little. I barely noticed however; I remembered the last time I had seen Jacob. His father had sent him to my prom to tell me to stay away from the Cullens. I tried to ignore the pain I felt and kept on with the conversation.

"Yeah, that's right." I agreed. I then turned to look at the rest of the pack; they were looking at me and Jacob with a small pang of jealousy. "Sorry, I appear to have lost my manners." I said smiling at them. The look of jealousy slipped from their faces the moment I spoke. "I'm Bella Swan, Charlie Swan's daughter." I escaped Jacob's hug to go greet them. They hastily introduced themselves; Sam, Jared, Embry, Paul and Quil. Of course I already knew their names, but I tried not to let that little detail slip. So instead I said;

"Nice to meet you! So Jake, does you being here means you got your license? Am I going to get to see more of you from now on?" I asked with a smile. No need to be smug, but I think that was a smart question; I had feigned ignorance and managed to ask him about his intentions at the same time. Not bad I guess. He was a bit taken aback be the question -or the smile, I couldn't tell.

"The answer is yes, to both questions." He said looking at Sam. Sam nodded at him and Jacob turned back to me again. "Actually Bella I… well basically _we_, would like to talk to you about something important…" So they were actually going to tell me… I can't say I had seen that one coming. I pretended to be curious and I looked at them with worried eyes. I asked the first question I would have asked if I still was human;

"What's the matter? Does this have to do with Charlie? Is he okay?" I tried to give a panicked tone in my voice and it seemed to have worked, because Jacob hastily reassured me feeling guilty about worrying me.

"No! Nothing is wrong with Charlie, don't worry."

"Sorry about that." I apologized. And I was truly sorry; I didn't like lying to him. "I just tend to get a bit overanxious from times to times. So what's this about? And why do _all_ of you need to tell me about it?"

"I'm afraid we can not discuss it here." Jacob said, looking at the cashier who was trying to eavesdrop what we were saying. I had noticed him from the beginning of the conversation; his thoughts were funny; something about giants not being a myth and such. A plan started forming in my head.

"Hey, I have an idea!" I exclaimed clapping my hands once, making them all smile at my reaction. "I'm cooking for Charlie tonight. Would you guys like to come over too? I never had any guests in my house. And if you don't want Charlie to hear what you want to tell me, invite Billy and Harry too. They will provide a good enough distraction, don't you think?" They seemed exited with my idea; their thoughts and their feelings told me that. They were also excited about coming to my house.

"It's a done deal!" Embry answered for all of them.

"Great!" I said and decided to act my part a little more, remembering not to give them any direct orders. "Hey guys, since you're here, would you mind helping me carrying the groceries back to my car? I might need to buy much larger quantities with all of you coming tonight…"

Six instant and excited "Sure!" were heard. I had finished shopping everything I needed faster than I would have thought. Of course I had ended up buying ten times the quantity I was aiming for in the beginning but it was okay. The wolves were really fun to spend time with and especially Jacob. I had forgotten how easy being around him was. I paid for everything and exited the store with the six werewolves carrying the groceries; they hadn't let me carry anything even if I insisted. They thought the bags would be too heavy for me; I guess they wouldn't still think like that if they knew I had spent my whole night demolishing stone walls.

"So Bella, where is your truck?" Jacob's voice came behind the oversized and overstaffed bag he was carrying. "The only car we saw outside was a sports car. Did you see it?" I turned to look at the six of them with a smirk on my face;

"Come on Jacob, not _just_ a sports car! What you saw was the new Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren Roadster." I said as I pulled my keys out of my bag and unlocked the car just to add some visual effects. I heard six simultaneous sharp gasps. "So, I take you like my new car then…"

"Like? _Like? _Simply like?" Jacob gasped. "When did you get this car? How?" I started telling the tale about my 'aunt' and they all nodded in understanding.

"So, once I pushed my truck over sixty and it started making all those funny noises, I decided it was time to get a new car." I explained. "This one seemed like a great idea…" And it was; this car had managed to make me feel more alive than I had felt in months and not just because it was fast.

"It's perfect!" Quil exclaimed.

"Perfect doesn't even cover it!" Embry agreed clearly excited.

"Glad you like it guys…" I checked my watch. "Huh… I better get going if I want to finish cooking before Charlie gets to my house. I will inform him about you guys if you tell Harry and Billy." After they agreed, I hopped in my car and drove back home.

I called Charlie to tell him about the additions to our dinner party; he was glad to have someone to talk sports with and even happier I had invited people my age too. I prepared the food depending on my new speed to get everything ready in time. While the food was in the oven I finished my homework, snorting now and then; vampires, gods and werewolves were claiming my attention and yet here I was, doing my homework and cooking dinner…

Four hours later everything was ready; I wasn't sure I hadn't overdone it with all that food, but then again Jake and the rest of the pack _were_ huge and Charlie's appetite was not a force to be reckoned with. I set the plates on the table and then carried the food, even if it was still boiling hot. I was barely ready when the doorbell rang; I could tell by their scents that they were human; three beating hearts. Charlie, Harry and Billy.

I opened the door to greet them; except Charlie who had seen my changes the rest of them were looking at my openmouthed, even Billy, letting his icy façade slip.

"Come in, it's pretty cold out there!" I commanded. They all followed me in obediently, Harry pushing Billy's wheelchair.  
"That smells great Bells" Charlie said and then looked confused at the quantity of the food on the table. "Are you sure we can eat all this?"

"Have you seen Jacob and his friends lately?" I counter-asked him.

"Bella has a point." Billy agreed smirking.

"Heck I do; those boys are huge! I didn't know someone had patience enough to cook that much every day…" I admitted.

"We have Emily to thank for that." Harry said. Emily… I think I have heard her name in Sam's thoughts. She must be the girl he has imprinted on. Lucky girl; she knew the man she was in love with loved her back and would love her forever.

"Speaking of them, where are the boys? Didn't they come with you?"

"They are on their way." Billy said, looking at me intently. Of course; he must know about the pack and as a result about them telling me. The same way he knew about the Cullens. "They just had to take care of something before they came here." He added. Checking for Victoria before coming to talk to me then? Rotten luck; I had done the same after finishing my homework and she still appeared to be in Seattle.

Before saying anything else I heard two other cars approaching; the pack must have taken all precautions since Harry and Charlie were here too. Because it was definitely werewolves; their scent that had something slightly reminding forests and wilderness and their elevated heartbeats spoke of that. Then the doorbell rang and I headed for the door.

"Hi, guys! Right on time; Charlie, Harry and Billy just arrived. Come on in!" They were dressed almost the same as they had earlier that afternoon, only this time they actually had shoes on. They all hugged me and headed towards the table.

"Wow, Bella I think you overdid it!" Jared commended.

"I have to make sure that you guys are well fed. You gave me the impression that you can eat more than that." I said smiling impishly.

"Sure, sure." Jacob said as everyone laughed. We started eating and after twenty minutes almost all the food was gone.

"Amazing cooking Bella!" Paul exclaimed.

"I knew you would eat it all…" I said, mostly to myself but loud enough for everyone to hear. They all started chuckling and I went to bring the ice cream. I listened to the pack's thoughts and I realized they had agreed to talk to me right after dinner, so I tried to make things go faster; the sooner I was told the better. They had to know what Victoria wanted; although she wasn't near Forks, she was still at large and I had a feeling she was planning something big. After ice cream was devoured Charlie, Harry and Billy talked a bit about the bear that was supposed to attack hikers in the forest; I wasn't sure, but I could bet that the bear's name was Victoria. Then they got engaged in one of those conversations about sports that I still couldn't get to understand. Jacob turned to me;

"Hey Bells, do you mind if me and the guys take a better look at your car?" He said looking at me intently; I smiled at him slightly and nodded in understanding.

"Charlie, is it okay with you if I take the boys to the garage for a while? They seem to be obsessed with my car."

"Okay Bells." Charlie answered too absorbed by the conversation he was having about football to form a larger answer. I nodded to the pack and they followed me to the garage. I noticed Billy looking at me while I rose from the table. He was wondering how I would take the revelation and if they were doing the right thing to tell me. The guy was worrying too much for his own good, if you ask me.

We entered the garage and I stood next to the door looking at them; they were staring at me awkwardly so I decided to speak first.

"So, what was so important that we had to be alone for me to know?" Like I didn't already know.

"We thought of many ways to tell you about this Bella, but we decided it would be better if we just showed you." Jacob said.

"Please try not to scream." Sam pleaded.

"Oh, and you better open the garage door…" Paul added. I complied, pretending to be confused once again.

"Okay, the door is open. Now what?" I asked.

"Now you better hold your breath and really try not to scream." Jacob said as he took a step forward, removing his shirt and his shoes. So he was going to morph into a wolf; I prepared to look shocked. I should probably fall on my knees and pretend to be in a loss of words. Yeah, that was a plan worth a shot.

Jake started shaking violently and then he morphed into the huge russet wolf I had seen the day before, his jeans shredded on the floor; time to look shocked. I gasped, fell on my knees and brought one hand on my mouth, supposedly to prevent myself from screaming, while staring at Jacob with wide eyes. He looked at me in what I presumed to be a wolf's edition of an apologetic look and then ran of to his car, Jared following him; Jared opened the car's trunk and gave Jacob another pair of jeans, similar to the ones he was wearing before. Jake went behind his car and seconds later he walked towards the garage, human once more. I was still pretending to be shocked.

"Bella don't be scared." Jacob said putting his shirt and shoes on again. "We are not going to hurt you." I decided it was time I snapped out of my 'shock'.

"_We?_" I asked, forcing my voice to break.

"Yeah, we. You see, we can all do what you just saw Jacob doing." Sam explained.

"Bella please try to remember, I once talked to you about this…" Jacob pleaded, looking beyond sad. I felt guilty already about lying to them, so I decided it was time to give them a break. I closed my eyes and took in a few short breaths pretending to concentrate.

"That day at the beach…" I mumbled and Jacob looked at me encouragingly. "When I asked you about the Cullens, you also said something about the Quileutes; that some said that you were descended from wolves. Wolves that turned to men, you said. Protectors, werewolves…" The last two words came out as a whisper, but from their relieved smiles I understood they had heard it. My acting was getting better, but I wasn't entirely sure I liked it.

"Exactly!" Embry exclaimed. "Wow, Bells you are taking this really cool you know. We had anticipated you would fade or break to hysterics or something." I hated to disappoint, but I don't think I would have fallen to hysterics even as a human. I rose from the floor and looked at them mumbling;

"You saved my life yesterday… I can't thank you enough." It was true that even though I wouldn't get hurt, I didn't want to use my powers back then; if by some whim of fate Laurent escaped, it could possibly mean eternal oblivion for my parents.

"Don't mention it, that is what we do." Quil said smiling.

"So, does that mean you are not going to run out screaming 'werewolves' or something along that line?" Paul asked smirking. I managed a grin of my own;

"I believe you know I have had my fare share of weirdness during the past months." My voice was genuinely sad as I spoke.

"That we do know." Sam said sounding serious.

"Anyways, not that I mind finding out one more supernatural secret, but why are you telling me?"

"Glad you asked Bella." Jacob said. "Well it actually has to do with that leach that attacked you two days ago, when we found you in that meadow."

"You mean Laurent?" I asked, still feeling a bit uncomfortable with the words 'leach' and 'bloodsucker'. How could those words ever describe the perfection that was Edward?

"That was the bloodsucker's name?" Paul asked and I nodded affirmative.

"Well, not only him; we believe his mate is around too." Sam said.

"No, not his mate." I said shaking my head. "Laurent didn't have a mate. You must be talking about Victoria." I added pretending to tremble in fear.

"That female, Victoria, is not the dead leach's mate? Are you sure?" Jake asked, putting his hands on my shoulders, trying to comfort me. I looked at his face and said;

"Red hair, red eyes and looks like a maniac?" I asked.

"That's her alright." Embry agreed.

"Then it's Victoria. She had a mate called James and Laurent was traveling with them. A few months ago James took an interest in me and kidnapped me, in a way; Edward killed him and now Victoria wants me. A mate for a mate. I guess she doesn't know that… that things aren't like that between me and Edward anymore. She had Laurent helping her."

"So that was what he was trying to do when we found you? Take you to Victoria?" Jared asked shocked. I smiled a sad smile.

"No he wasn't. He said it would be a waste if he let Victoria kill me so he decided to turn me and have me as his mate instead. I think he was allured by my scent." I shuddered at the possibility.

"He wanted what?" Jacob said shaking with fury once again.

"As I said, thank you for what you did. I can't think of a worst fate than immortality with Laurent." I noticed they were all shaking now so I tried to take the subject away from my near demise; "So I guess there really is no bear in the forest… It was all you trying to chase Victoria and Laurent away. They were the ones killing those hikers, right?"

"You are right." Jacob said shaking less violently, the others following his example. Soon they were all calm again and Jacob kept talking; "Thank you Bella, now we know why she is trying to go around our lines. You helped us more than you know. By the way your scent is really amazing; we haven't smelled anything like this ever. Although I don't think he was allured _only_ by your scent."

"Thanks for the compliment, but don't mention it Jake. If a psycho vampire is out to get me the least I can do is try help the ones chasing her. Although I should say I'm not all in for the idea of you guys chasing her; you might get hurt." I added, truly afraid for their lives. They all smiled at me as Sam said;

"Don't worry about us Bella, that is what we are designed to do." I beg to differ; my parents never said anything about werewolves and vampires being natural enemies. Something told me this had something to do with the Volturi but I couldn't be sure.

"That won't stop me from worrying, I'm telling you." I said shrugging my shoulders. Jacob gave me a bone-crushing hug. "Ehm, Jacob, ouch…" I said although it didn't really hurt; I had an act to keep up.

"Sorry Bella, it's just I thought you wouldn't act like this. To tell you the truth, I thought you would be too afraid of us to even want to talk to us again, let alone worry about us."

"To tell _you_ the truth, I _am_ a little scared, what with all that amount of food you ate." I said jokingly, making them all laugh. They all reached to hug me at the same time, even Sam, thus ending up looking like a major pile up around me. We all started laughing again and I felt weird coming so close to being happy again.

"Maybe we should go back now. Charlie probably hasn't noticed, but I fear Billy might think I ran off to the forest or something." I said. They looked at me bewildered and I shrugged adding; "I saw the looks he gave when we came to the garage, plus he seemed to know everything about vampires last year, not to mention that having his son being a werewolf might have probably tipped him of about all of you."

"You are very observant sometimes, aren't you?" Paul asked.

"So I have been told…" I admitted. "Come on guys, let's head back; I might consider feeding you some more now that I know what you do every day." I added smiling.

"You won't see me objecting." Sam said as the rest of them laughed. We went back to the living room laughing, forcing Billy to look our way confused. I smiled a dazzling smile at him, making him go from confused to dumbfound. They all stayed in my house for about twenty more minutes, Billy still looking at me confused. They left and I escorted them to the door hugging every one of them. Billy seemed to want to say something, but Jacob stopped him telling me goodnight and kissing my on the cheek. I smiled at him; his kiss felt so natural but just failed to bring forth the feelings Edward did. It just felt like my brother was kissing me; I don't know what I was hoping for really.

After they left, I used my powers to clean up everything -and yeah, I know it's a lame way to use my powers, but I wasn't in the mood for anything more- and headed to my bedroom. I took a bath and changed into my nightgown, checking to make sure the werewolves were heading back to La Push before I went to bed. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to cloud my senses.


	10. Of Sunlight And Visions

Hello everyone! I'm back with a new chapter (as you can see!). For everyone who have been patient enough to bear with me for so long, I have great news; Edward is back! Well close to back anyways, but he is here in this chapter! About time don't you think? Anyways, in order for my story to work, I devised a supposed visit from the Denali coven to the Volturi, but you will have to read and see what I mean by that. Now allow me to answer some of the questions raised in you reviews;

**362TwilightGirl362;** The wolves will find out but not just yet… Sorry about that but please do bear with me… And I usually update every five or six days. I would prefer updating faster myself, but university just sucks that way; no free time at all!

**Sol Swan Cullen;** As I said; Edward is back! Enjoy! ^_^

As always, if I have forgotten anything, please be kind with me… I'll make up to you, promise! Anyways; on with the story!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**OF ****SUNLIGHT AND VISIONS.**

_I took a bath and changed into my nightgown, checking to make sure the werewolves were heading back to La Push before I went to bed. I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to cloud my senses._

My parents were waiting expectedly for me, obviously curious about how the conversation with the werewolves had gone and, of course, how did my control over darkness go.

"So how did it go?" Ouranos asked and I started explaining everything, from the conversation with the werewolves to using the power of darkness.

"Although I would have appreciated it if you had told me about possibly hitting the back wall after trying to use it…" I mocked accused them, unable to stop my giggles, causing them to break to laughter.

"I would have loved to see that incident, although you might have been the only thing possible to damage those walls in the basement…" Ouranos said.

"Gee, Dad thanks; the only _thing _to damage the wall? And anyways no need to worry for my well being." I said jokingly.

"Sorry Bells, but you know what I mean." He apologized, still laughing a little.

"So the pack told you, didn't they?" Gaia said. "That was pretty fast."

"Yeah, although I wasn't so psyched about lying to them, at least I helped them with Victoria." I admitted.

"It was necessary, Bells. Your mind is the only place safe for your identity at the moment." Gaia said.

"Yeah, I know." I said sighing.

"Anyways, since you did so well with darkness, I guess it would be okay to give you the last remaining elemental power you'll be receiving; light. It is the exact opposite from darkness and yet one is unable to exist without the other. How could you tell what darkness is if you had never seen the light? And how could you appreciate the sunshine, if you had never witnessed night? You must understand, no force on this planet was ever supposed to be evil; it's how you use those powers that makes the difference." Ouranos explained and I tried to understand.

"You already know how to master the power we are giving you; just to warn you this time, the power of light possesses the same ferocity as the one of darkness. That means that once you use it you must be prepared for the recoil." My mother added, smiling sheepishly.

"I will try to protect the basement walls from me this time, don't worry." I said smiling back.

"Time to wake up then. Once again you will need all the time you can get to properly prepare for your power." Gaia said smiling sadly this time.

"Wait Mom, before I leave, can I ask you something?"

"Anything Bella, you know that."

"Well, I was wondering, since I will soon have all my powers, when will I be able to get you out of here?" they looked at each other with worry.

"We knew you would ask sooner or later." Ouranos said. "There is something you should know about our prison; as in all prisons there is a kind of an alarm installed. The moment your powers will touch the surface of the outer wall, it will go off and inform the cursed ones about your efforts."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" I asked feeling desperate; if there was no way to break them out, what good was my training?  
"Don't worry Bella; we have already worked that part out." Gaia said. "We found a way to nullify the alarm from the inside. We will explain everything tonight after you have mastered your last power; then and only then we will tell you how we're going to do this."

"Okay!" I said grinning like a maniac at the possibility of getting my parents back again. It gave me purpose and a reason good enough to anticipate the next day with some hope.

"See you tonight then." My father said as they disappeared in a kaleidoscope of colors. I was still grinning when I woke up. Moments later I was all dressed up and in the basement, ready to start my training.

I summoned the power in an orb; if I was mystified with the orb of darkness, I was breath taken with this one; if I was still mortal I would have been blind by now. The light was so bright that, even if the orb wasn't larger than the size of an apple, it almost made the details of the room fade. I tried to not get overwhelmed, thinking this was the last thing standing between me and my parents. About fifteen minutes later I was back in track; one more hour and I had it under control.

I created another wall in front of me and got prepared for the blast; I put all my weight on my legs and leaned forward a little as I called forth the element. I felt the power flowing from my core and concentrating to my palms; then it happened. A ray of brilliant white light flew through my palms and hit the wall. I heard the rumble coming from the wall and I stopped channeling more power. The result was unbelievable; I had kept the beam on for the same time as I had with darkness, but the wall was not reduced to pebbles. It was now turned into a pile of glistering sand on the floor.

Four hours later I had demolished over fifty walls and was ready to head for school; I packed all my staff and headed to the garage after hiding my glow and my golden eyes. I reached school ten minutes early and Angela run to meet me.

"Good morning Bella."

"Hi, Angela. How was your day yesterday? How did the date with Ben go?" Thanks to my cement memory, I remembered she had mentioned something about a date with Ben. She started talking about the date, when a now familiar scent reached me; werewolves. I looked near the school's entrance and I saw Jacob and Embry waiting for me. Jess and Lauren were eyeing them; this was going to get ugly.

"Woo, who are these guys?" Angela asked. "I didn't know we had new guys in school. They look too old to be here anyways. And tall. And like they are seriously working out." In her thoughts she added 'And not bad looking either… No, think of Ben!' I had to smile as we approached them.

"You know Angela they are not new in school. They are Jacob and Embry and they live in La Push."

"How do you know?" Angela asked confused.

"Because I know them." I simply stated and moved towards them. They smiled the moment they saw me and Jess and Lauren went green with jealousy as they approached and hugged me.

"Hi, Bells!" Jacob said grinning.

"Hey, Jake, Embry, nice to see you guys! What brings you here?"

"Can't we just come to check on you?" Embry asked.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." I agreed smiling. "So you _just_ came to check on me?" A useless question as I could already hear in their minds that they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to break down.

That particular thought seemed to be on every one of the people I knew minds' and, personally, I found it severely unfair, especially considering I have only broken down twice in my whole life.

The fact that it took me about two months to _almost_ act normally after the first time I broke down was, of course, irrelevant.

I smiled again to make sure they realized I wasn't falling to pieces, at least not because of what _they_ had told me.

"Really nice of you. But you know despite of what the facts might show I'm fairly capable fending for myself."

"Sure, sure." Jacob said. "Anyways," He added and gave me a mock salute, quickly mimicked by Embry "we also came to tell you that everything is under control." Jacob always seems to know what to do to brighten my day. I started laughing, obviously.

"We should get going. As I said, just came to check on you. If you need anything just give us a call and we will come running." Jacob said and Embry nodded.

"Thank you guys; for everything." I said as I watched them walking away. It was nice to have people to care about me that weren't part of my family, although in a weird way the pack felt like family.

"What was that all about?" Angela asked.

"Nothing really." I lied. I had to think of something plausible to tell her; it took me less than a twentieth of a second to come up with a story. "I know Jacob since we were kids and now he and some of his friends are helping me settle in my new house."

"Nice guys; good looking too." She added looking at me with meaning. She was hoping that one of them could replace Edward in my heart. Yeah, that would be possible if Edward never existed or if it wasn't for the fact that he had taken my heart with him the day he left.

"Sure, sure…" I simply stated, realizing I had copied Jacob's expression. I had an odd feeling it was going to stick with me. The rest of the day passed in a blur; I wasn't really paying attention since I was completely focused on what my parents were going to tell me tonight. Once I was ready to go to my car I saw Charlie's cruiser parked outside. I walked towards him to ask what had happened.

"Hi Bells. Well don't worry nothing has happened; I just wanted to tell you that Harry is organizing his annual fishing trip and that I usually go with him. He is leaving tomorrow and it's going to last for five days. Are you going to make it without me for that long?"

I could feel his concern and I realized he was seriously considering bailing on his trip. I was touched; those were the only vacations he allowed to himself all year long. Plus I had really troubled him with my depression those past months.

"I think you should go. As a matter of fact let me make a correction; you _have_ to go. Don't worry about me." I added, listening in his thoughts that he was going to protest. "If I need anything I will contact Jacob." He seemed to relax after that statement. After five more minutes of me convincing him, he finally decided on going. I was happy for him; he deserved to have some good time.

I wished him a good trip and hugged him. Then I left from school and headed back home, determined not to hit the gas pedal too much; as excruciating as my longing was to hear his voice, I had to keep my head clear in order to help my parents.

Those were my thoughts as I ran to the basement, set on training until nightfall. By the time I finished training it was seven thirty. A bit early for sleeping but I couldn't wait. I ran upstairs, changed into my nightgown and lay on my bed. I cleared my thoughts and soon I was facing my parents. I spoke before they could utter a single word;

"So how are we doing this?"

"Easy, Bells!" My father said smirking. "Shouldn't you tell us how _you_ did first?" I snorted, rolled my eyes and hastily explained what went on the day before.

"…and so I decided to go to bed early and, as a result, here I am. Now it's your turn!" I hadn't even stopped for a breath.

"Okay, okay; tone it down a little." Said my mother smiling. "As we told you a few hours ago, there seems to be an alarm installed in this prison. The moment your powers touch the outer wall, the alarm goes off. As we also told you we found a way to nullify it from inside. The curse ones have put the same curse on these walls as we have on your basement; our powers are deemed useless. However not everything is as it seems; our powers may be unable to destroy the walls, but that does not mean they can't affect them at all…"

"What do you mean?" Ι asked astonished; I had witnessed the endurance of those walls myself. My powers could reduce anything to rumbles with the exception of these walls.

"You see those walls can't be broken because they store energy inside them and then let it leave slowly. That way they minimize the ferocity of the attack" Well that _was _interesting but I failed to see how it would help. My mother swiftly explained.

"Now if you hit the wall from outside, it will take in a huge amount of power very fast and the alarm will signal your tries. However, the alarm isn't set from the inside too; it would go off all the time, what with all our attempts to escape." I smiled; I could finally see the plan that was being explained to me. The alarm didn't have to do with the amount of power the wall took; it had to do with the transition from being devoid of power to getting too much power at once. A smile crept on my face.

"I see you're getting it…" My father said smiling approvingly.

"As you understand, if we have already overpowered the wall from the inside, the alarm won't work once you do the same from the outside. The two powers will fuse together and while we can not damage the wall, you will have no such problem from the outside."

"That's ingenious!" I exclaimed. More like squeaked really. "So how do I get to your prison? Tell me and I'll come pick you up today!"

"Well, we will tell you, but you can't come here today I'm afraid." My father said.

"Why not?" I asked disappointed.

"We can't suddenly hit the wall with all we got. The alarm might not work from inside out, but a sudden power charge will be noticed. We estimate it will take about a week or so."  
"A week?"

"Yes, and I am afraid it will only get worse before it gets better; as long as we charge the wall we will be unable to contact you. That means for a week you will be unable to come see us." My mother added.

"A week?" I repeated my voice a distant echo of my previous question.

"Yes, I know it might seem too long and we feel the same way as you do; we have already been waiting you for eighteen years, don't forget. But if that is what it takes to be a normal family again, as normal as we can be, then we are prepared to do it." She added.

"If that's what has to be done…" I whispered closing my eyes. I nodded and smiled a little to myself. "If that's what is required then I'll do it." I said decisively.

"That's the spirit!" My father said trying to look excited, although he didn't like this situation any more than I did. At least I appreciated the fact that he tried…

"So after that week, how am I supposed to get to you?" Ι asked changing the subject.

"The moment we are done, one of us is going to inform you. Then you will call forth the power of darkness while thinking of us. That is going to create a portal that will look like a thick black smoke; that is the only way to travel to the Underworld. The moment you walk through that door, you will face a huge wall stretching in frond of you endlessly, towering over a wrecked land. The part of the Underworld we are located is vacant. I am glad to report that even though we are imprisoned, we still inspire fear enough to not be approached." He said smugly.

"Once you approach the wall, you will see a vertical crack; that's the entrance. Instead of concentrating on one of the powers you possess, concentrate on your very core. You will feel an immense amount of power, but don't fear it. When you are ready release your powers straight against the wall. You will hear a cracking noise and then the doors will part. After that we take charge…" Gaia explained smiling.

"Okay, then. It seems all I have to do is make it trough that week." It shouldn't be that difficult, right?

"Exactly. And then we will be out of this wretched place and together again." My father said smiling like Gaia.

"Yeah, I guess after eighteen years this cave can get a little…" And then it happened. I never had one before but I instantly knew what it was; I was having a vision.

The cave was now gone and I was instead standing inside a spacious, beautifully furnished, white room. The wall in front me was covered in glass and looked excruciatingly familiar, not only because of my own house. Outside it was dark; I could see the richer colors of the night giving the ocean, which was glistening beneath the stars and the moonlight in the distance behind some palm trees, a deep dark blue color. The moon itself was full and appeared to be setting, slowly reaching downwards to the horizon.

I heard familiar voices behind me and I froze into place. It can't be. It just can't be. I slowly turned towards the voices. Now I could see them; of course _they_ couldn't see _me_, but I could and that was enough to rip my chest in two. Alice was near a lit fireplace and was facing Carlisle and Edward who were sitting in two separate black couches, both looking at her. I could now take in all the details and it shocked me. I blamed my stupid mortal eyes for not doing him justice. He looked better than I remembered;

His bronze hair was as disheveled as ever, his marble face flawless. I walked near him trying to take as much of his face and body in as possible. That's when I simply knew something was severely off. His eyes were pitch black like he hadn't fed for weeks rather than days, the purple circles dominant around them.

But what took me by surprise was the look on his face. He looked agonized and in pain. It was a look I had come to know during the past months; I could see it reflected on my mirror every day. He started to talk and although there was no sound I would like to hear more than his voice in the whole world, it hurt me by how hollow and broken he sounded.

"So you two came all the way to Brazil to tell me that the Volturi are interested in mine, Jasper's and Alice's power?" Edward asked like he couldn't care less, a harsh edge in his voice. So he was in Brazil; I had to admit it was a great place to get distracted…

"No, son." Carlisle said, looking at him like he wasn't sure what to say; like he was desperate. "Alice had a vision about some of the Volturi guards visiting you tonight and we thought it would be for the best if we were with you when they arrived."

"Why is that? What are you hiding? All I can hear in your thoughts is you telling me I have to listen to you; what is so important you have to make such effort to keep from me?" His voice was higher than before, but he was still clearly uninterested. "Do you think I would join them?" He asked looking disgusted. "I would never!" A huge weight lifted from my shoulders; for a moment I too was afraid that was the case. It seems I was mistaken.

"That is not the problem Edward." Alice said looking at Carlisle for encouragement. He nodded so she kept talking. "You see in my vision they…" her voice broke and she looked at her hands. What had happened? Had they hurt him? If they had, I would make them pay. He might no longer be in love with me, but I am; hopelessly so. No one is touching him. Not now, not ever.

I looked at Edward who was still confused; they must be keeping their thoughts from him still.

"You see, about a month ago they were visited by the Denali coven. I don't know exactly the details, since that wasn't what my vision was about, but Laurent was with them at the time." Edward looked tense and angry. A low growl escaped his throat.

"What did _he_ had to do with them?" he asked.

"He seems to have formed a bond with one of the females from the coven, but that's not the point." Alice said dismissively. I remembered Laurent's thoughts that day in the meadow, recalling a detail I had pushed in the back of my head due to the information overload I had been experiencing; so that was the Irina he was referring to. "You see Aro touched them and, as a result, found out everything about them and us." She said. I also knew about Aro's power. In the beginning it was limited to only hearing the present thoughts of others when he touched them, but the cursed ones saw to that. Of course like all other vampire powers, his too didn't apply to gods.

"So what? They were bound to find out sooner or later." He said impatiently, urging her to continue.

"Well, you see…" Alice began again, looking more uneasy than I had ever seen her. "When Aro touched Laurent, he also found about…"

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed and jumped up from the couch he was sitting, like somebody touched him with a hot iron. Even if I longed for him to say my name once more, I couldn't understand his tortured expression as I observed him pacing up and down the room.

"Exactly." Alice said, her voice grave. "In my vision they threatened to kill her if we didn't cooperate." She explained. "Once you heard that, you went in a frenzy and attacked them." She added smiling slightly. "You were doing great by the way; I had never seen you like that before. You would have won too if it wasn't for Jane…"

I froze. The Volturi did hurt him. Or they would hurt him in the future. Well, not if _I_ had a saying in this! I observed Edward; he had fallen back on the couch, his hands over his face. I couldn't get it. Was he feeling guilty? This wasn't right. He shouldn't. Then he started talking, his voice tired. And I lost the world beneath my feet.

"That is impossible!" He exclaimed, his voice getting louder and closer to breaking with every sentence. He seemed to be talking more to himself than anyone else. "After that incident with Jasper on her birthday, I left her so she could be safe. I left her so I wouldn't hurt her any more, so that she could have a normal life. I left her, and it kills me slowly every day to be away from her, so that she could have a shot at happiness. And once again she is in danger because I love her. Because I was selfish enough to fall in love with her and make her love me back. This can't be happening!" He was now almost yelling as he blamed himself, pushing his fingers through his already messy hair, shutting his eyes tight. His body was shaking from tearless sobs, as Carlisle sat next to him putting one hand over his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

I couldn't believe my ears; _he loved me_. He left to keep me safe. He _wanted_ to be with me. Suddenly, the anguish and despair I had felt during the past two months meant nothing and I was whole again. I felt tears forming in my eyes and did nothing to stop them from falling. That was more than I could ever hope or even wish for. I wanted to run and hold him tight. I wanted to tell him that nothing was going to hurt me ever again. That we could be together forever; if he would just take me I would be his. It was that simple.

That was when I heard a knock coming from the door and managed to see three grey hooded figures walking in the room, one smaller and two bigger ones, before my vision faded. I was back in the cave.


	11. A Near Escape

Hi there everyone! Sorry for the slightly delayed update, but this chapter took a little extra thought from me as it was crucial as to how the story would proceed. Anyways, it's ready now so I figured it was high time I updated. Let me once again thank all of my reviewers; you are the best and I mean it! For all those who wondered if Bella was going to help Edward, just read and find out ^_^! Now for some more specific answers;

**Pintos;** Thanks for the correction, I will correct the mistake was soon as possible. Please feel free to point out any other mistakes you might find since English is not my mother language and I want to make sure my story has as little spelling problems as possible! Thanks again ^_^!

**Irene90;** Yup, it was the Volturi. As for her dreams… you will have to wait for the next chapters for that one (laughs evilly).

**Sol Swan Cullen;** She was seeing the future. You will see how far exactly in the future she was seeing in this chapter!

Okay, I believe that's it! Just let me thank you all once again and continue with the new chapter; enjoy!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**A NEAR ESCAPE.**

_That was when I heard a knock coming from the door and managed to see three grey hooded figures walking in the room, one smaller and two bigger ones, before my vision faded. I was back in the cave._

"What did you see sweetheart?" Gaia asked worried looking at the tears that were roaming freely from my crying eyes. I explained them what I had seen between sobs and then added fervently;

"He loves me!" I gasped. "I can't believe it. I just can't. That day in the forest he told me…" I was unable to go on with my thoughts so I just stared at them hopelessly. I must have looked pathetic, but they loved me too much to make any comment about my appearance.

"We thought that might be the case." My father admitted and I looked at him perplexed, getting more confused every second.

"What do you mean dad?"

"Remember that we told you we had a theory about something that concerned you but didn't want to tell you until we were certain?" He asked.

"Yes, I remember. You said you would tell me when you were sure." Of course I remembered. I was just dying to know what they meant with that for days now.

"Exactly. As you already know, when we first tried to contact you, we saw almost all you memories about him because that was all you could think of. We saw how his face lit up every time he saw you, his despair when he thought you would die, the amount of restrain it took him to keep you alive when you were injured last summer. And we saw his face when he left you that day in the forest; he looked like walking away was going to kill him. We didn't know why he left, but all the evidence pointed to one thing; he was in love with you no matter what he said or did. Still we weren't sure, so we said nothing. But your vision proves it."

For one spectacular moment I was completely happy again. I could go to Edward and tell him about me and we could finally be together. Maybe a kiss would be enough to seal our fate forever, just like in fairy tales.

And then my happiness trembled and shattered; the Volturi. Edward was in danger. How typical…

"Mom, Dad, what about the Volturi guard? I can't just let them take Edward and his family away!" Even I could hear the panic in my voice. However, to my great surprise, my parents smiled mischievously at me.

"What?" I asked confused. I suddenly felt unbelievably dense; wasn't I supposed to avoid approaching the Volturi, let alone fighting them?

"Bella are you a goddess or not?" My father asked me raising an eyebrow.

"I am?" I answered, my uncertainty and lack of understanding turning my answer into a question.

"Then go get them!" My mother added smiling broadly. Okay, this was getting far too confusing for my taste and patience.

"I thought I was supposed to avoid the Volturi…"

"Remember what we have told you before, that all the gods on our side know that the Volturi betrayed us? Well it is not highly uncommon for gods to attack the Volturi guard from times to times. At least they did before we were imprisoned. So, as long as you don't let them see your face and use just one element to attack them, they won't realize who did it. I highly doubt those three figures you saw where the three brothers anyways, so they are less likely to identify you. They probably are just part of the guard." My father explained. "Also, you'd better not kill them. You see, the Volturi don't report simple attacks to the cursed ones, since the cursed ones don't like to be bothered for what they call 'trivial matters', but they are bound to report a fatality"

I was a bit overwhelmed with all the new information but finally, I understood; a smile matching theirs appeared on my face. My, as usually, over-vivid imagination had started to kick in; I could perfectly imagine some Volturi guards being hit by lightning or caught in the middle of a monsoon. Not a bad idea at all. Then a new problem arose;

"Even if I can help them, how will I know when and where the attack is going to happen?" I asked crestfallen. An easy answer came from my mother;

"You can use your power of projecting to see where the attack will take place. And as far as the time is concerned, since this is your first vision it can't be too far in the future. Can you remember anything in the vision that might help you estimate the exact time?" I started pacing back and forth, unconsciously imitating Edward's reaction form my vision.

"It was night. I remember that much. I remember the moon was…" I froze; the image of the scenery behind the glass wall came completely clear in my head. The palm trees swaying in the night breeze, the dark blue, glistening ocean in the distance and, off course, the moon. _The full moon. _If my mother was right and the vision was about the near future -and I couldn't see why or how could she be wrong- I was in huge trouble. For the full moon was _today_.

"I have to go now!" I shrieked. "It's happening tonight!"

"Then go." My father simply stated. "Just be careful. And who knows? If we are lucky enough, next week when you come to get us out of here, you might not be alone…" He winked at me and I couldn't help myself; I was hopeful again. After all this time hope was a feeling I could grasp once more. Maybe my father was right. And that 'maybe' was all I needed. I smiled back at them, unable to express what was going on inside me; my mind couldn't find the words and, even if it did, I doubted my mouth would bring forth any sound at all. I wasn't even sure if there _were_ any words to express what I was feeling.

"Mom, Dad, I…"

"No need to say anything Bells." My mother said. "You should hurry. And I can't believe I am saying this, but go kick some Volturi butt… We will see you again in a week and this time it will be for good." She promised. I smiled again and hoped the immense amount of gratitude that I felt could somehow reach them, since my lips were still uncooperative. Thanks to my improved mind state however, I made a quick recovery.

"I should probably go." I agreed. "Do you think I should tell the Cullens who I am?" I asked.

"You should probably tell Edward, especially if things between the two of you turn out the way I think they will." My mother said. "As far as the rest of the family is concerned, tell them who you are only if Edward turns out to be your other half… If that will be the case, they have a right to know. They are his family after all. Anyways, you will have to show yourself to them in order to tell them to leave, so you should tell them _what_ you are." She concluded as I was forming a plan of action in my head. There was only one thing left for me to say;

"I love you both so much; I promise I will get you out. _I promise_."

"We know Bells." My father said. I smiled at them again and left the cave. I knew the next time I saw them I would set them free; I could feel it. Now I simply had to save the rest of my family whose impending future was still uncertain from some bloodthirsty crazed vampire dictators, stop Victoria from whatever she was doing and possibly find my other half. Piece of cake.

I rushed from the bed to my closet in record time and put on a pair of dark blue jeans, an ice blue, silk corset-like top and my favorite black boots. I also chose a velvety black jacket with a hood to conceal my face. I put it on and lowered the hood to my eye level. I took a look in the mirror; I was glowing and, since my face was changed, it was impossible for anyone who hadn't witnessed my changes to find out who I was just by looking at my nose and mouth, the only parts of my face that were visible under the hood.

I looked outside. It was dark but the moon hadn't risen yet. I turned at my clock; it was only eleven thirty. Luck seemed to be on my side for a change. I looked at the mirror again and projected Edward's location. I tried to zoom out and, after two unsuccessful tries, I could see the house from above; it was about fifty miles away from any major city, with the closest one apparently being Brasilia, the capital city of the country. As far as I could tell, the house was southwest from the city. With my course set, I opened my window; the weather was far too clear to fly safely, so I called forth some clouds to provide me with the cover I needed.

With a sudden blow of the wind, clouds started gathering above me; in five seconds the skies appeared ready for a major storm. I checked to make sure nobody was watching and took of. I started gaining height in an unimaginable speed and in a matter of minutes I was over the clouds. With no more delay, I headed south, willing the clouds to follow me so I would go unnoticed. If anyone watched from the ground they would see nothing more than a storm heading south; and for some members of the Volturi guard, that was exactly the case.

I was unable to enjoy the flight as I was too worried about making it there in time. If I had calculated everything correctly, I should reach the border of Brazil in five hours, about one hour sooner than any plane. I hoped with all my heart that it would be fast enough.

Five hours later and right on schedule, I crossed the Brazilian borders; soon I was over Brasilia. I couldn't have been flying over the city for more than fifteen minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. When the last lights of the city were behind me I took a dive so that I wouldn't miss the house. Ten minutes later, and five minutes after I had started doubting the route I had taken, I finally spotted the house. I dived further down, relieved from the lack of proximity with other houses.

I saw a light coming from the ground floor windows. I went closer and looked inside. Alice and Carlisle were already there while Edward was pacing the room. They must have already told him about the Volturi 'visit'. I couldn't believe I was so close. I had to stop myself from running towards him as I knew the Volturi were about to make their entrance. I saw Edward sitting next to Carlisle; that was my queue. I morphed into an owl -a form I considered inconspicuous enough- and flew to the front of the house.

A few minutes later I saw them; three of them. I knew the short one was Jane. The taller ones were Felix and Demetri. I was under the impression that the leaner one was Felix, but I couldn't be sure. They knocked the door and then shoved it open. I changed back to myself and stood still waiting to make my appearance. From where I was standing I could hear them talking as I shouted inside my head for them to do something that would be enough to give me a reasonable excuse so I could march in there.

"What a pleasant surprise." Jane's childish voice chimed. "Since your fortuneteller is here too, you must know the reason for our visit." She seemed to be addressing Edward. Come on, motivate me already!

"Don't you dare touch Bella!" Edward shouted angrily, jumping immediately to the subject that seemed to interest him the most. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"Oh, but she has everything to do with this." One of the male vampires, the one I assumed to be Felix said. "She is the key to acquiring your powers, the weak link, if you will allow me to use such expressions." How wrong he was.

"He said you are not to touch her!" Alice shouted as Carlisle held her back, trying to prevent an attack to the Volturi that could cost Alice her life.

"How dare you raise your voice to us?" I heard Jane's response and then, to my horror, Alice's scream of pain. No more waiting. Alice's scream was the excuse I needed to intervene. I made sure my hood was in place and that I was glowing enough for them to notice and then I walked through the door, shooting a lighting bolt from my right hand straight to Jane's chest. I had resolved to use lightning not only because it was effective without being able to kill the vampires but also because, let's face it, it was intimidating. That got their attention alright.

All six of them -Jane from the other side of the room- were looking at me with wide eyes and mouths hanging open. I could get why. Even if they hadn't just seen me throwing lightning from my hands, since the only light in the room was coming from the fireplace, the light emanating from me looked more intense than its usual glow.

"Who are you?" Demetri managed to gasp. I laughed coldly before talking. My laugh seemed to scare them more than the prospect of being hit by lightning. Interesting.

"The point traitor is not who I am, but _what_ I am." Surprisingly, Carlisle was the one to talk first.

"A goddess? But how is that possible?" Once hearing the word 'goddess' everyone -except of course Carlisle who had said it- gasped and looked at me more intently than before. I didn't even know that was possible.

"Nice to be recognized." I answered. "You see, I was passing by, thought I sensed some Volturi traitors and guess what I found!" I said coldly, turning my head towards Demetri, Felix and Jane who had now approached me. Stupid movement from her side, I might add.

"But we…" Demetri began to explain. I didn't let him finish.

"Silence!" I ordered. "How dare you address me?" My voice echoed inside the room and I was pleased to see the guard take some steps back in fear. "Now where was I?" I asked myself remembering my mother's words. Didn't she say 'kick some Volturi butt'? "Oh, that's right. I remembered." I said softly and attacked. Lightning sparked from both of my hands and soon the three vampires were knocked out. Hardly any fun…

Edward, Alice and Carlisle were looking at me in shock. I just couldn't resist reading their minds.

"_A goddess?"_ Carlisle asked himself. "_Why did she attack the guard? I thought only the cursed ones are supposed to be bothered with vampires." _So he knew about the cursed ones. Well, he _did_ spend some years with the Volturi. _"Are those three dead?"_

"_A goddess?"_ Alice started the same way as Carlisle. _"So cool! I thought they were just myth!"_ I almost laughed; typical Alice. I had missed her too much. Then I turned to the one whose thoughts interested me the most.

"_She looks familiar…"_ He thought. _Did he know?_ _"No, I must be wrong… I miss Bella too much and now I'm projecting her to every woman I see. And this is a goddess! But then again so is my Bella…"_ That was almost it. If I didn't know it would be easier for him to comprehend the situation if I explained everything to him first, I would have gone and kissed him right then and there. Instead, I gathered my thoughts and spoke, trying to keep my voice even. I tried to sound less intimidating than before, although I understood it was almost impossible, given the fact they had witnessed my little lightning show just seconds ago.

"To answer your question, no, they are not dead, not that they wouldn't deserve it. Elemental attacks however can leave even vampires unconscious." I explained softly.

"We can't thank you enough, my lady." Carlisle said as I started feeling uncomfortable. When did I become a _lady_?

"Don't mention it." I said, waving my hand dismissively, imitating my father.

"You saved our lives!" Alice exclaimed. "Of course we will mention it!" Carlisle and Edward looked at me afraid Alice had insulted me. I couldn't help it this time. I laughed.

"I guess, if you put it that way…" Then I realized they should probably get going before the Volturi woke up. "I would like to ask you a favor." I said.

"Of course! Anything, my lady." Carlisle said.

"Don't you want to hear it first?" I asked unable not to tease him a little. He was taken aback so I laughed once again and said; "Don't worry. Why would I save you only to kill you? That's the cursed one's way, not mine…"

"And you are not…" Carlisle began.

"Me? A cursed one? No! Far from it!" I said. "Now listen to me. I want you to call the rest of your family…" and on seeing their confused faces I added "Yes, I know about the rest of your family. Now as I said, I want you to call them and then all of you meet me at your house in Forks." They were gapping on me again. "Yes, I know about your house in Forks too." I added with a sad smile. _Soon_, I reminded myself.

"But, what…" Edward started asking and I interrupted; they had to leave _now_.

"Trust me this is important. I didn't just _happen_ to be here. I came intentionally." I said looking at him softly under my hood.

"But…" he started again and this time I raised my hands to silence him.

"Please Edward, trust me." He looked confused when he heard me saying his name. I smiled to him as warmly as I could and added; "I will explain everything, you have my word. But now you must go. I will meet you there." I turned towards the door and made a spontaneous decision to leave with a bang. My mother's idea was the first one that popped in my mind. I morphed into a pack of ravens and flew out the door.


	12. Back In Forks

Hi there everyone! I'm back and I brought a new chapter with me! And for all those who have been asking; yes, the Cullens' are back and Bella talks to them in this chapter! And as you might have noticed the first part of the chapter is from Edward's point of view; I just felt like it was time to tell the story as he sees it… I hope you will like it. So, just let me than you all amazing reviewers for your support; I can't even start to describe how encouraging your support is! Just thank you! Enjoy the next chapter and, please, don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**BACK IN FORKS**

_I turned to leave and decided to go with a bang. My mother's idea was the first one that popped in my mind. I morphed into a pack of crows and flew out the door._

_**Edward's P.O.V.**_

I watched as this goddess took the Volturi guard apart. She made it look so easy. I guess it has to be easy to take down a couple of vampires if you can throw lightning from your hands. I listened as she talked to Carlisle an Alice. I was shocked when she said she knew about the rest of my family and about our house in Forks. I tried to ask her about it, but she stopped me saying she was here intentionally and she had something important to tell us. I tried to speak once again.

And then she spoke my name. And I wasn't afraid to breathe anymore. I was whole the way my Bella made me feel. She asked me to trust her with that crystal voice of hers. How could I not? How could I disobey, when I felt that doing so would hurt me more? That it would somehow hurt _her_? And why did I care so much if she got hurt?

I didn't have more time to dwell on my feelings as she then told us to leave and walked through the door. To be exact, she actually transformed into a pack of ravens and _flew_ through the door… One thing was sure; she knows how to make an exit.

We acted spontaneously after that; the three of us ran to Carlisle's car and headed towards the airport, leaving the still unconscious members of the Volturi guard behind.

"Can you believe what just happened?" Alice asked from the back seat. "A goddess just broke in our house and took down three Volturi guards thus saving our lives. Now, the same goddess asked us to gather the rest of our family, somehow knowing about its existence, and go wait for her to our house in Forks because she wants to _explain _something to us. And I thought gods and goddesses were simply myth! But she glows and throws lightning from her hands and… and wow!" She seemed close to having a breakdown from all her excitement and I couldn't bring my self not to agree with her.

"Truth be told," Carlisle said while driving, his face lit up with the thrill of new information "they are not myth. I just thought, I mean the Volturi told me, that only a specific group of gods deals with vampires. They called them the cursed ones." He started explaining all that he knew while Alice contacted the rest of our family. They seemed to be under the impression that she was making a joke -especially Emmett who had just gotten back from his latest honey moon with Rosalie- but she convinced them to come as I listened to Carlisle.

Up to this moment I had considered gods to only exist in myths and bed time stories. I had never imagined them to be real, let alone separated in two rivaling groups. You would imagine that after being a vampire for almost a century I should know better by now. Carlisle talked about the cursed ones, their three leaders Loki, Set and Kronos, whose names I recognized from various cultures' mythologies, their milky eyes and how they had affected the Volturi. I always wandered why their eyes looked this way.

He also told me about rumors he had heard concerning what the gods referred to as the 'royal family'. That their names were Gaia and Ouranos and that they were supposed to have had a child that died almost nineteen years ago. He also said that, according to the same rumors, the king and queen had disappeared since then. Of course he wasn't sure why they disappeared or even if the rumors were true. He also said that some believed gods are true immortals. That they can't be killed by anything.

I stayed silent during the flight. I knew that the rest of my family would meet us back at the house. Back in Forks. All my thoughts about gods and goddesses where gone as the image of my Bella came to my mind. I didn't know how I would manage being so close to her and not go see her. How could I resist going to her house and begging her to take me back. Had she moved on? I deserved that much. I deserved all the pain and hatred I would receive from her. All the hatred I _should_ receive.

I left her and I saw how broken she was. But she is human and humans move on. Vampires on the other hand… Let's just say I find it highly ironic that a heart that hasn't beat in almost a century is capable of holding so much pain.

We landed in the airport as the sun rose, thankfully hidden behind thick clouds. At least we could walk outside without sparkling. Once we made our way outside the airport we were met by Jasper who had come to pick as up. We reached the car and Alice started talking about everything that had happened excitedly. Jasper had a look of disbelief on his face so he turned to Carlisle for confirmation. When he nodded affirmative, I could see his prior disbelief turning into shock. I for one couldn't blame him. A few seconds later he came up with a question for Alice, that I found well put;

"If all these really happened, how comes you didn't have a vision of her attacking the guards in the first place?"

"I don't know." She admitted and shrugged. "But, she is a goddess Jazz. I bet that she can block our powers if she wants to." Alice had a point, I was forced to give her that much.

We reached the house and met with the others. After we were welcomed back, a little too warmly from Esme, Carlisle began explaining what had happened and then what he had told me and Alice in the car as we headed towards the airport. I simply sat on the couch and let my thoughts carry me to _my_ goddess. My Bella.

_**Bella's P.O.V.**_

I had flown the way back to Forks and I was at the moment transformed into an eagle, sitting on a branch of a tree right across the Cullens' living room. Thanks to the glass wall I was able to see the family gathering. The first ones to arrive were Esme, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett. They were seriously considering the possibility of all this talk about gods being some kind of joke. They uncovered the dining table the chairs and one of the couches that were covered with white sheets just like the rest furniture of the house and sat down waiting.

I watched as Jasper left to pick the others from the airport. I had let the clouds that I had used for cover as I flew back over the general area around Forks to enhance the already existent ones, making sure the Cullens would have no problem walking in the open. It looked like a typical day at Forks. Yeah, right; typical.

Emmett was trying to make the others laugh by imitating Alice's voice on the phone call they had received earlier. I found it very successful and even let out an eagle's version of laughter, but I seemed to be the only one to think so.

Not that I could blame them. Waiting for an unknown goddess who seems to know every single detail about you and your family to come visit your house can't be a relaxing feeling .Their thoughts varied from a concerned; 'I wonder what she might want from our family.' from Esme to a cheery; 'I wonder if gods play video games." from Emmett.

Jasper came back with Alice, Carlisle and my Edward. While Carlisle started explaining, Edward went for the couch, sat down and threw his head back closing his eyes. He looked so peaceful at that moment that I almost forgot why I was here. I listened to his thoughts and found out he was thinking about me. Not me the goddess, but me Bella. The first time he saw me. That day in our meadow.

And I have had enough; it was time.

I flew to the front door of the house and changed back to myself. I made sure my hood was still in place. This was going to be difficult enough as it was. I could always take it slow. I took a deep breath and knocked the door. Being polite couldn't hurt, could it?

Everyone inside went silent. Then I heard footsteps. Esme seemed to be the one to open the door.

She looked at me, shock and awe in her eyes. I smiled at her kindly wanting to pull her in for a hug. I resisted.

"Hello." She said looking mesmerized at my glowing face, at least the part that was visible. "Please come in."

"Thank you." I simply said as I followed her to the living room where the rest of the family waited. As I had already seen from outside almost all the furniture were covered with white sheets, giving the house a sense of abandonment. All my thoughts about the house however dispersed as I was met with the sight of the whole Cullen family. Awe was once again the main feeling I got from them as they realized that I really was a goddess. I looked at Edward's confused face. Trying to understand his reaction I listened to his thoughts; 'There it is again! Even with her face hidden she reminds me so much of Bella…"

"Ehm…" Esme said. "Would you like something to drink, my lady? Actually I don't know what you drink but…"

"We drink everything, though we need nothing." I explained smiling. "But, please don't worry. I am okay. And there is no need to be calling me 'lady'. It sounds a little weird really" I said with a smirk and then turned to face all of them saying; "You must be wandering why I gathered you all here, so I should better start explaining." They all nodded yes, even if numbly, so I continued.

"You might want to sit down for this. I know you don't need to, but this is going to be a long story." Plus they would be making me less nervous than just standing there looking at me, but I didn't think it wise to enlighten them about that tiny, insignificant detail. They did follow my advice sitting on the chairs around the dinning table, too stunned by my presence to even think of doing something different. I simply leaned to the back of the couch facing them.

"Well, were do I begin. I guess, as they all say, you start from the beginning and finish with the end. So please bear with me as I will do my best to explain the situation I am in to you." They didn't say anything as they seemed to be hanging from my lips, waiting for the story to begin. So, I started.

"I understand Carlisle has already told you some things about my kind, but since his sources are those traitors, the Volturi, I should probably start by clarifying a few things about that subject…"

"Ehm… sorry if I interrupt, but why are you calling the Volturi traitors?" Emmett asked earning death glares from everybody, while Rose made mental notes to make him pay later. I decided to lend him a hand.

"I will get to that Emmett, don't worry. Oh! And I do play video games. You know, just in case you were wondering." I said smiling at his awestricken expression and the confused looks the others were giving him. As I said that however, Edward's thoughts invaded my mind; 'She even smells like Bella too. Not edible, yet so perfect. Flowery…' I had to explain fast because I had no idea how much more of _that_ I could take.

"As I was saying, my kind can control the elements of nature. Our responsibility is to protect this planet and its inhabitants, though we are by no means the ones that created them. We usually control one element each, with the exception of the three leaders of the cursed ones and, of course, the royal family. The cursed ones weren't always like that. Driven by desire for the throne and dreams of domination, they dwelled into darkness, gained power and lost their souls in the process. The royals on the other hand, Gaia and Ouranos as a couple, can control all the elements. They represent balance. Gaia is also the protector of werewolves, while Ouranos is the protector of vampires…"

"Why would the king of gods be interested in vampires?" Rose asked, mouthing a question they all wanted to ask.

"Well, someone has to make sure your souls are well-guided I suppose." I said shrugging, trying to act naturally, although I knew what I had just said meant for them.

"Our souls?" Rose asked again, every bit as shocked as the rest of her family.

"Yeah, you do have souls you know… Now if, as my father put it, some of you decide to condemn them by not trying to stop drinking human blood, that's your decision. By the way, congratulations; you are on the right path with drinking animal blood." I added, delighted by the smiles that had formed on their faces. I knew that if they could cry, they would be weeping right now.

"Really?" Esme asked, her voice barely a whisper, looking happy beyond belief.

"Yes, really." I said smiling warmly. "Why do you think your eyes are gold?" I asked. They just stared confused. "Oh, sorry, I forgot the Volturi haven't told you. You see the royal family's eyes are gold. Not exactly like yours, but gold none the less. Ouranos thought that by granting vampires that drank animal blood golden eyes, he would help them get the hint." I explained making their smiles widen.

"Cool!" Emmett exclaimed, earning death glares once again.

"Cool indeed." I agreed laughing. "Now as I was saying the gods are divided to two groups. What you might not understand is that those two groups are at war. They have been in a war for millennia. No side managed to get the upper hand, until about eighteen years ago. Because eighteen years ago, Gaia and Ouranos had a baby girl. Apart from common knowledge, gods can only have one child. Theoretically, that child is to inherit either his mother's or his father's power once she or he comes of age. Just one element. In Gaia's and Ouranos's case however, the girl inherited all of their powers. But, like all gods and goddesses, she would be mortal until she was of age, meaning until she was eighteen. The cursed ones found out and, being scared that if the child came of age she would turn the tables against them, decided to kill her. They gathered their allies and started the hunt." I turned to Emmett and added;

"You see that is why I call the Volturi traitors. They were the first ones to help with the hunt. Anyways, Gaia and Ouranos did all they could, but they realized it would be too dangerous just to run around with their daughter for eighteen years. So they made a decision; they locked away their daughter's powers so they wouldn't manifest as she grew up. Then, they left her to grow up with a couple that had just lost their baby girl in birth. The couple never found out, since they made the change right after the birth. They also made sure the couple shared some of their facial characteristics and, since their baby was only a couple days old, they knew no one would notice the difference. They took the dead baby and ran, staging a fight to pretend that their baby died in the battlefield. The plan worked but only partially; the cursed ones believed the baby was dead, but the king and queen were outnumbered. They were caught prisoners and still are. If there was a way to kill a god, they would be dead by now."

"So, what happened?" Emmett asked with eyes almost round from excitement. The others were so absorbed by the story that they didn't even bothered to glare this time.

"Even if they were captured, they had managed to form a bond between them and their baby girl. They were the ones who had locked her powers, so they were the ones who would make sure they would be unlocked when she reached eighteen. And that is exactly what happened." I said as I brought my palms in front of me, facing up.

"Don't be afraid" I said as two orbs of lightning appeared, one in each palm. Then lightning turned to water and water turned to fire. And fire turned to air, earth, darkness and, finally, pure light. I could see their bodies sparkle as the rays from the orbs reached them. I snapped my palms closed and the orbs disappeared. They were all staring at me again. I sent them soothing feelings, not wanting to listen to their thoughts just yet. It seemed to work, since a few seconds of uncomfortable silence later Carlisle managed to ask;

"You are that child, aren't you? You are the princess…"

"Princess… I sure don't feel like one, but yes, you are right." I answered with a sad smile.

"Oh, my!" Alice exclaimed. "I am talking to the princess of the gods! You saved my life!" she shrieked looking at me shocked.

"I owed you Alice." I said, knowing it was about time to tell them who I was. I knew I could trust them, for, in a sense, they were my family.

"Wait a second." Edward spoke for the first time since I had come to their house, raising his hands. "Not that I don't appreciate the fact that you saved us, and without wanting to sound ungrateful, I'm compelled to ask; why did you saved us? How do you know us, why are you saying you owe us and most importantly, why did you tell us who you are?" They all looked my way, agreeing with Edward but afraid of what they might hear. I took in a deep breath bracing myself for the impact.

"I told you I owed you because you saved my life in the past. And I know who you are, for that same reason. As for why I told you who I am… Basically, I did tell you because you already know although you haven't realized it just yet. But you deserve to know and in your case Edward you… You simply _have_ to know if I want to stay sane." I desperately tried to explain.

"I still don't get it." Edward said looking at me confused. I sighed and closed my eyes. I reached for the zipper of my jacket and undid it. Then I took my jacket off and opened my eyes to look at them. They stared at me unable to think for a couple of seconds. Then they gasped as realization hit them.

"_Bella?"_ Edward asked.


	13. The Kiss

Hi there everyone; first of all I should apologize for the late update. To my defense, I was out of town and with no internet. I should have guessed really, but it's not my fault that internet connection sucks over an altitude of 3.400 ft. Not my fault I'm telling you! Anyways, as always, I would like to thank my reviewers for your support; you really are the reason I keep writing I'm glad beyond words that you find my story worth reading. And more specifically;

**Acullen4evr;** Thanks, for reviewing! I'm really glad you point out my mistakes! Spelling and grammar mistakes are my nightmare… Please keep reviewing!

**Sunrisen;** I will try to use that phrase… I really will! Thanks for the review!

**Jackie;** Ehm… Sorry for your laptop. I hope you will enjoy this chapter and that you have your laptop back for that matter!

**Reinbeau;** Thanks for saying that you find my story original… I really wanted to write something different and I'm glad you noticed!

So in this chapter we have the Cullens' reaction towards Bella and –as the title implies- their first kiss… you will have to wait for the outcome on that one! The much needed conversations between Edward and Bella will come in the next chapter, since I wanted this one to be more about the first reaction of the Cullens. That's all for now I guess; on with the story and as always, keep reviewing!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**THE KISS**

_I sighed and closed my eyes. I reached for the zipper of my jacket and undid it. Then I took my jacket off and opened my eyes to look at them. They stared at me unable to think for a couple of seconds. Then they gasped as realization hit them._

"_Bella?" Edward asked._

And their thoughts invaded my head. Nothing I could do; they were practically screaming in their heads and as a result, in my head too.

'Oh my!' Alice thought. 'Bella is the princess of the gods! She is a goddess! And Edward was right she looks perfect in blue, not that any color would look bad on her!' Leave it to Alice to make fashion comments in situations like this one.

'This is Bella? No way! She looks better than me!' Typical Rosalie; I could practically hear a pout forming in her thoughts.

'Damn, she looks hot!' Em and Jazz thought at the same time, immediately wishing Edward hadn't heard them.

Esme was still too shocked for coherent thoughts, but her feelings told me she was mainly happy to have me back.

'No wonder why she was always so different.' Carlisle thought, providing the medical point of view in all that incoherent maze of voices. 'She looks amazing.' Then I turned my focus on Edward. He was still too startled to think straight, so I only got bits and pieces of what he was thinking. 'My Bella, a goddess… Makes some sense I guess… I mean she always was… A goddess?... So beautiful… I am really not worthy enough for her… Why would she want me anyways?' I resolved I had to deal with his low self esteem immediately. And he always said _I_ was the one who didn't see myself clearly!

"Yep, it's me alright!" I spoke lightly, trying to ease some of the expected awkwardness. "Weird, I know…"

"Weird doesn't cover it!" Jasper muttered. Despite his shock however, I could feel his relief. It confused me at the beginning but I soon understood; he was relieved he was no longer affected by my blood. He must have dreaded a revision of what had happened in my birthday. I should make clear I don't blame him for anything in the future. Because, frankly, I really don't.

"But how?" Edward wondered looking at me with an almost tortured stare and clearly unable to take his eyes from mine. I told them everything from my dreams and how I met my parents to how I controlled my powers, my plan to brake my parents free and my vision. "So, when I had that vision I knew I had to come and help you. The rest you already know."

"Wow!" Emmett exclaimed.

"I will have to agree with you Em; wow!" I said still looking at Edward.

"So you are immortal now, right?" Jasper asked.

"As immortal as they make them. So, you are not freaked out? Not about to run to the forest screaming for your lives? " I asked copying an expression the pack had used when they informed me about being werewolves.

"Don't take me wrong; it is a lot to take in." Carlisle agreed. "But, you did save our lives and you chose to trust us by telling us everything about who you are, even if it could possibly endanger your parents. So, no, I at least am not going to run screaming; if nothing else it would be undignified." He added playfully. I just stared at him unable to believe what I was hearing.

"And no matter what, you are still Bella; you will always be part of this family. So, I'm not going anywhere either." Esme added smiling as everyone, except Edward who appeared to be frozen solid where he stood, nodded in agreement -even if Rosalie was still eyeing my looks dubiously. I couldn't help the tears that escaped my eyes, but I quickly wiped them off, not wanting to taint the moment.

"You look amazing!" Alice shrieked breaking the tension and ran to pull me into a bear hug surprising the living daylights out of me; she too wasn't going to run away, I guess. "And you smell great too!" she said while hugging me. I blushed and she noticed. "Either I'm getting blind or that was the fastest application of make-up I've ever witnessed. I didn't notice you were wearing blush. Amazing shade though; something between pink and bronze? Where did you buy it from?" I laughed at her reaction.

"I am sorry to disappoint, but it is not artificial. My blood's color is gold now, so when I blush, this happens." I admitted.

"Cool!" Emmett said once again following Alice's example. Soon almost everyone, even Rose, had joined in a group hug. I couldn't believe my luck. They had decided to accept me? And then I saw it; the only exception to the wave of acceptance and care was Edward.

He was looking at me from a distance uncertain about what to do. I ventured it was better that way. Before anything happened I would have to talk to him about the whole 'kiss me and you might turn into a god' possibility. He saw me looking at him so he cleared his throat and said;

"Hey, everybody! I would appreciate if you could give me and Bella some time alone to talk."

"Of course! We have to go hunting anyways. It's been a while." Esme said in silent understanding as she pulled away. The rest of the family did the same, so I was soon following Edward to the stairs. While we were almost in the middle of the staircase, Emmett decided it would be smart -or funny, I honestly didn't get it- to yell;

"Don't do anything I wouldn't!" I turned to him with the evil smile I had inherited from my parents and snapped my fingers, in order to add a theatrical element to the scene. Cold water fell on his head making everybody, even Emmett himself, laugh. Thus laughing, they headed for the door and I followed Edward to his room.

The room was exactly as I remembered it, except the fact that the couch was now covered with a white sheet, just like the rest of the furniture was downstairs. Edward went to lift it but I touched his hand -sending electricity that had nothing to do with my powers to both of our bodies- and whispered; "Let me do it". I flicked my wrist and a wind current lifted the sheet from the couch. Maybe I was showing of a little but I couldn't help it. We sat across each other.

"Look Bella I…"

"Look Edward I…" We both said at the same time. He raised his hand and said; "Ladies first." I smiled at him and decided to cut straight to the chase. I had waited long enough.

"Edward what have you heard about werewolves' imprint?" I asked and he looked first confused and then sad, even if he immediately tried to compose himself. I couldn't get why but I decided to respect his privacy this time.

"You mean the fact that when a werewolf sees his other half he immediately knows?" He asked with a haunted voice "Did that happen to you? Did one of the werewolves…"

"No, no!" I said swiftly, understanding what bothered him. He looked relieved. "It's just that something similar happens to gods too. Once we have our full powers, we can tell who our other half is through our first kiss. Unbelievably romantic, I know, but at least now you get were all that lore about enchanted kisses comes from. Anyways, the thing is that, if our other half is not one of our kind then he or she turns into a god or a goddess, with the exact same powers as his other half… It is all about equality as you might have guessed…"

"Wait." He said again trying to understand what I was implying. "What you basically say is that if I kiss you I might turn into a god?"

"Yeah, look I know it's a lot to take in and I will completely understand if you need some time to think about it…" I never got to finish my sentence as he silenced me, placing his fingers on my lips.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" he asked smiling slightly at me.

"More than anything." What a stupid question that was.

"Even after I lied to you? Even after leaving you alone. Even after hurting you so much? Caused you so much pain? Can you still love after all that I put you through?" He asked hopefully. I cupped his cold cheeks with my hands and looked straight into his dark eyes.

"I love you Edward Cullen. I always have and always will."

"As I love you." He simply stated, melting my heart in a way only he could as he pulled me into a kiss. This kiss was more fierce than any other we had ever shared and yet so full of emotion, so full of passion, that it took my breath away. In the first couple of seconds I felt nothing more than the pure bliss I always felt when I was kissing him.

And then it came; a tidal wave of power surging from within my very core. I realized I couldn't break our kiss, not that I wanted to. Suddenly, I felt all that power that had almost become too much to hold, leaving my body and flowing into Edward. His body trembled and I could feel the changes almost immediately. His face and lips became warmer under my touch and I could feel the blood running through his veins. And then I heard it; a steady, if accelerated, thudding. The rhythm of his beating heart. I really didn't want to break the kiss, but I had to see the rest of the changes, a little bit afraid of the outcome; how can you improve someone who is already perfect?

So I pulled away to take a better look at him. I gasped; he looked even better than before, if that was possible. His eyes were still closed, but there no longer were any purple circles around them. His skin was a bit less pale due to the golden blood pumping through his body. He looked healthier than I had ever seen him and the light that emanated from him only pronounced his characteristics more.

He really was mine now; my soul mate, the one that was destined to be with me for all eternity. And, yes, we still had a lot talking to do, some shadows of the past that had to be purged and many threats in the future that we would have to deal with. But he was here, with me, for good; and it was going to work. We would make it work. I knew it.

He opened his eyes and I faced gold -my type of gold- in them. I smiled and shed a couple of tears of pure joy as he gave me his crooked smile. He took my hand and placed it over his now beating heart.

"I guess now you are stuck with me forever." He stated playfully, his velvet voice echoing in my head; 'forever'. I would really like to see that idiot who claimed that gods can't die. If I wasn't in heaven right now then where was I?

"You know what? I better be or I'm asking for a refund!" And with that, I kissed him again feeling unable to keep myself away. He returned the kiss with the same passion and then I heard the familiar sound of something catching fire, accompanied with the smell of smoke. I looked on the floor and found that the sheet that was until recently covering the couch, was now consumed by flames; if nothing else I could sympathize. I extinguished the fire and turned to Edward.

"The element of fire is mainly controlled by emotions." I explained giggling.

"It's your fault then." He mock accused me. "You got me overexcited…" I started laughing as a thought crossed my mind; my parents had said that vampire powers don't work on gods. How about god powers?

"I have an idea…" I said placing my palms on both sides of his face. I tried to concentrate; reading minds was one thing, but I had never tried to send images and thoughts to some one else's mind. And Edward's mind right now seemed to be much better protected than before. Slowly but steadily however, something began to happen.

"Ehm, Bella, not that I object you touching my face, but what are you doing?" Edward asked. I didn't have to answer as the first images entered his mind. I heard him gasp in shock. Then he just _had_ to break my conversation by kissing me. Okay, maybe it was a little bit my fault too; I had sent him the image of the first time I had kissed him and all that I had felt and thought at that time. It was understandable I guess…

"How did you do that?" He asked me in shock.

"Basically, you can do that too. I just hadn't done it before so I decided to use a rather… intense image. Just to make sure it would made it through, you know…" He looked at me amused.

"And may I ask how images of me kissing you will prevent me from setting the house on fire? I honestly don't believe it will work… Actually, I believe it has potential in making things worse." I pretended to punch him on the arm while he put his arms around my body and pulled me on top of him as he lay back on the couch.

"I was just checking to see if it was possible! Anyways, if I was trying to set the house on fire, I would do it my self. And if I wanted _you_ to set the house on fire…" while talking I started tracing circles with my fingers on his chest, causing him to close his eyes and smile. I smiled too and deliberately lowered my voice to something just a little louder than a whisper, in order to add; "If I wanted you to set the house on fire, I wouldn't need images."

His eyes snapped open and he kissed me again. I could feel the temperature in the room rising. Both literally and metaphorically. We really had to stop this until I explained him how to control the elements, or Esme was going to find a way to do the impossible; kill a goddess. I pulled back unwillingly.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going love? I'm not through with you yet!" he complained, giving me a pleading look. _Love!_ He had called me his love! It was my turn to try not to set the house ablaze.

"Don't look at me like that! I have to give you the basics about how to control the elements. If we keep going like this, something is bound to catch fire you know!" he sighed and looked at my eyes.

"Okay, I'm listening. And, by the way, have I mentioned I love you?" I smiled at him, my heart drumming in a crazed pace I knew he could hear, threatening to tear my chest in half from joy this time. I did my best not to kiss him.

"I might have heard something like that, yeah… but you don't have to _listen_ to anything. That's what I was trying to do before you interrupted me so rudely."

"Sorry about that." He teased me.

"Don't you dare to be sorry about it!" I teased back "Just hold that thought for a little longer."

"Your wish is my command." I rolled my eyes and kept on with the explanation, still a little unable to believe how my life had turned from complete misery to perfection in only a few hours.

"I will try to show you how _I_ learned to control my powers. It won't of course replace the training you will have to undergo, but it will work as a good enough substitute until we find the time to train you properly…" He nodded affirmative and I placed my hands once again on both sides of his face, focusing on the memories I would have to show him. His eyes widened from the shock caused by the memory flow even if he expected it this time. I showed him everything and after fifteen minutes he was looking at me confused.

"You did all that in just six days?"

"I did a lot more in six… well, seven days." I corrected myself as I watched the sun rising in the distance. The first rays reached us and I watched Edward as he observed his hands in the sunlight.

"It feels a little weird; you know that I no longer sparkle under the sun, not to mention the heartbeat… It will be amazing to walk in plain sunlight again." He added as he smiled at me. A girl can take so much.

I pushed him back on the couch and kissed him with all I had, a small part of my brain relieved from the absence of fire. He immediately got to my mood; he unzipped my jacket and threw it to the other side of the room as I hastily unbuttoned his shirt. I was far to occupied previously to notice what he was wearing but now I was silently cursing those irritating little buttons. Finally, his shirt came off and I gasped. My new senses didn't seize to amaze me. Not that I complained. I kind of noticed his self-conscious smile my reaction gave him, but I couldn't bring myself to care. He had just started to take of my shirt when we heard the rest of the Cullens approaching. Apparently they had decided to hunt close to the house.

Edward looked at me exasperated and then groaned. I couldn't agree more; I loved them all but they had the worst timing in the history of… well basically they had the worst timing in history, period.

"Now we have to sit and explain everything to them, don't we?" He asked. I looked at him smiling sheepishly.

"We don't really have to. Not _yet_ at least."

"What do you mean exactly?"

"We could always go to my place?"

"And what are you going to tell Charlie?"

"For one Charlie isn't here. He went to his annual fishing trip with Harry Clearwater. And two; have I mentioned I moved?" I saw a smile mimicking mine edging on his face.

"So, how are we getting out of here unnoticed and without Alice finding out?"

"Alice won't find out; vampire abilities don't work on gods. As for how we are getting out… remember what I showed you in my memories concerning animorphing?" His smile only widened. "Since you do, I believe we are ready to go. Just choose a form. If you want to tell me something while we are transformed just think about it and I will hear it. I will do the same if I need to contact you. Are you ready?"

"Of course; when it comes to you, I always am!" I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his hand. He chuckled as we made it to the window. I opened it the moment his family exited the woods. Moments later we were flying towards my house. If the Cullens had looked up, they would have seen two falcons leaving their house and heading north.


	14. Declaring Ourselves

Hi there! I tried my best and typed as fast as possible and managed to give you; the new chapter! I decided Edward and Bella needed to talk things through a little before I wrote anything else, so this chapter is dedicated to that… and something extra (I'm trying to keep the rating 'Teen' here, but I might write the M version of this chapter after I finish the whole story…)! Just let me thank all of you amazing reviewers and let you go on with the story! And don't forget; reviews make me happy!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**DECLARING OURSELVES. **

_I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his hand. He chuckled as we made it to the window. I opened it the moment his family exited the woods. Moments later we were flying towards my house. If the Cullens had looked up, they would have seen two falcons leaving their house and heading north._

'_That's really something'_ Edward thought as we flew.

'_Trust me I know. It is even better however when you are not morphed into a bird.'_ Even though he couldn't speak I heard the laughter in his thoughts. What had I misunderstood _this_ time?

'_Yes, flying is great, but I was talking about the fact that I am now able to listen to your thoughts. It was about time you know. It was really getting frustrating for me.'_

'_Only as long as I allow it.'_ I reminded him. _'And don't forget this is a two way conversation. I can hear your thoughts too…'_ I turned to watch him as he flew. He had morphed into a grayish colored falcon with, of course, golden eyes. How odd was it that I found myself attracted to him even when he was in that form? I heard him laugh again through our newly formed connection and I instantly realized what had happened.

'_I heard that!'_ He said smugly.

'_That's it!'_ I said trying to be mad, or at least sound mad, at him. I found it impossible but nevertheless continued; _'I'm shutting you out!'_ And to add some gravity to my words, I did shut him out. Of course I knew I would soon be able to talk to him since we had almost reached my house. In a few minutes, I flew through the still open window of my bedroom and changed back to my human -close to human anyways- form. I turned around and watched Edward doing the same.

Even if the sun was almost up, it was still dark enough for the light emanating from him to be breathtaking. Scratch that out; Edward would look breathtaking even in the middle of the Sahara with the scorching desert sun right above him. Why would the weak, hidden-behind-clouds sun of Forks have the slightest effect on him? Stupid Bella.

In the fraction of a second this thoughts occupied my brain Edward approached me with a determined look on his face and kissed me. Although I didn't need air to survive any more, his kissing did make me dizzy. However, the moment I started to kiss him back he pulled away from me breaking our kiss. He smiled sheepishly. I groaned.

"Did you really shut me out back then?" I could hear the humor in his voice so I decided to play along.

"I believe I did Mr. Cullen. And you know what? There is nothing you can do about it." Maybe I was provoking him. Then again, maybe I wasn't. He accepted the challenge anyways. He granted me my favorite loop sided grin and wrapped his arms around me.

"Nothing?" He said. "Are you sure?" His scent was making me light headed and his golden eyes were disconcertingly mesmerizing. And he was close. _So close_. So, was I sure? Of course I wasn't. What kind of a stupid question was that?

Before I managed to form an answer he kissed me again. More passionately this time as my previous playful feeling dispersed into thin air. I no longer felt the need to come up with a logical answer to his question as I realized that logic had no place in this moment. I was so enwrapped in his kiss that I didn't even realize we were moving backwards until my leg hit the corner of my bed. To my great disappointment, that brought us to a stop. Edward locked his eyes with mine and spoke in a tone almost apologetic.

"Sorry Bella. I guess I lost it back there for a minute." I looked in his eyes ready to ask him why he thought composing himself was a good idea and then order him to loose it all over again, when something else caught my attention.

"Edward, are you blushing?" I asked not trusting my own eyes. I blinked a couple of times but the facts remained; Edward's cheekbones had taken a gentle pink-bronze shade.

"I don't blush. Ever." He stated matter-of-factly, bringing his left palm on his cheek.

"You have a heartbeat now. And blood of your own." I said trying not to laugh at his confused expression. "You are bound to blush, get over it!"

"No, no, no…" He insisted shaking his head.

"Oh, don't worry." I reassured him. "You don't look anything like me when I blush. If anything, I look like a human-sized tomato. You look perfect. As always." And I was right of course. Although the color had now subsided from his cheeks, he had somehow managed to make blushing work for him. Not that I was surprised. He looked at me dubiously as he sobered up.

"You never, under any circumstances, have looked as you just described yourself." He said and then muttered under his breath "You never see yourself clearly." Out loud he added; "And I don't look perfect." There it was again; his low self esteem was getting on my nerves. I cupped his face with my hands and then raised my head so we could make eye contact. I might have grown a couple of inches but he was still taller than me by a lot. I felt an odd sense of pride when I heard him intake a sharp breath at our bodies' proximity.

"Edward" I said seriously, marveling about how easy it was to say his name now that he was here. "There are a few things I have to make clear. First of all_, you are perfect_." I saw he was ready to protest so I added; "Okay let's try it this way. Even if you were not perfect, a completely foolish thought since you are, you would still be perfect for me. I believe your recent changes prove that much, as if I didn't already know." That seemed to shut him up so I continued. "The next thing I want to tell you is actually more of a question. I would like to know why you stopped."

"I… I was afraid I was rushing things." He admitted.

"Rushing things? I would have to say that this is already overdue, don't you think so?"

"Look Bella, it's not like I don't want to. I want it, want you, so badly that I can barely control myself. But I first have to make sure you want it as much as I do. I have to make sure you are ready. I have caused you enough pain as it is." I looked at him in disbelief. He wasn't sure that I wanted it? That I wanted _him_? _He wasn't sure I was ready?_ Typical Edward.

"Edward" I started again "The last three moths while you were gone I was hardly myself. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep or do anything useful… Damn; I couldn't even breathe without hurting! Doctors actually said I was catatonic. I spent these months thinking everything we had was a lie. Because that night in the forest I believed you Edward. I love you so much that I believe everything you say; I simply can't help it. And what you told me that night hurt me so much, made me so depressed and miserable, that not even my parents -the king and queen of gods for crying out loud- could get to me. Then I turned into a goddess myself and all I could think aboutwas, now that I was immortal, I could be with you. _Really be with you_. Only to remember that you didn't want me anymore. It was excruciating trust me. I focused all I had on my training but it didn't help. Finally, I accepted that no matter how you felt about me I would always love you, as pathetic that might be. As pathetic that might make _me_. Then that vision came. And I saw you saying you loved me too. That you left me so I could be safe. You have no idea how that felt like. Suddenly my heart returned to its place, the hole in my chest disappeared and I could breathe again. Now you are finally here and you are finally and undisputedly mine. And after all that you think that I'm not ready? That I don't want you as much as you do when all I can think of is _you_?"

Only when I finished all I had to say did I realize I was crying. Edward had seemingly transformed into a statue. He was looking at my direction but gave no indication he could actually see me, neither talking nor breathing, like he had fallen into some kind of shock. Then I saw something changing in his eyes. He brought his palms on both sides of my face and brushed my remaining tears away with his thumbs. His face was close to mine again and his scent made my head twirl.

"When I was away," he said "I was exactly as you described yourself; empty, useless and in pain. I thought that it would be easier for you than it was for me. That one day you would forget all about me and be happy again. While we were in the forest I saw you believed me and the moment I left, I felt like I should ran back to you, fall on my knees and beg for your forgiveness. However I left and stayed away, letting misery have me, because I thought that I was protecting you, that I was keeping you safe. But I was faltering; if it hadn't been for your vision or the Volturi, I don't believe it would have been long before I returned and did exactly what I said; beg you to forgive me and take me back. You have to, you _must_ understand that it had become almost impossible for me; I was wallowing in self pity and I couldn't stand being near anyone, not even my family. Because no matter what I said or did that night there is only one truth; _I love_ _you_. I always have and always will. I've been waiting for you for far too long and now that I found you I'm not leaving. I will not repeat the worst mistake I ever made. I simply can't stand being away from you. Never again." A sole tear escaped his eyes as I whispered his name.

"Edward…"

And that was all I managed to say as he kissed me once more, almost desperately, as if his life depended on that sole kiss. He wrapped his arms around me again and he pulled me closer.

"Please Bella. Please forgive me." He whispered. "I'm so sorry for what I put you through. So unbelievably sorry."

"There is nothing to forgive, you silly man." I groaned as _I_ kissed him this time. "I love you too by the way, but I guess you must have pretty much figured that one out on your own by now…" He chuckled huskily as he placed kisses on my neck, causing a small moan to escape my lips. That was enough to send him, to send both of us, over the edge.

He lifted me from the floor and placed me swiftly on the bed without ever stopping kissing me. Suddenly, I felt we were both awfully overdressed for the occasion. I started fumbling with his shirt's buttons again and this time managed to take his shirt of. With one fluid movement it ended up on the floor and was soon followed by our shoes that were now lying at the other side of the room.

I let my hands move up and down his chest and abdomen, feeling every single muscle of his, tight under my palms. He moaned and hastily took my shirt off, as his kisses started getting lower from my neck to my chest. His hands slid over my waist as he reached for my jeans. A few swift moves later they followed my shirt on the floor. He stopped for a second to take a better look at me.

I heard him moan again and a sly grin appeared on my face as I realized why; I would have to thank Angela later. That blue laced lingerie she had persuaded me to buy seemed to work miracles.

He started placing kisses down my throat to my stomach and back again as I entangled my fingers in his hair, simultaneously wrapping my legs around his waist. The remaining pieces of our clothing were soon discarded and thrown somewhere at the other side of the room. I couldn't care less.

All I could feel was his hands roaming my skin. All I could sense was his perfect body trembling under my fingertips. All I could see now was him. The perfectly sculptured muscles of his chest, his tussled bronze hair, his face, his eyes. And I didn't want to see or feel anything else in my life. Ever again.


	15. An Unexpected Visit

Hi there! It's me again! Let me once again thank you all for your amazing reviews; you rock guys! I would like to announce that, though fluffy moments will be a part of this story from now on, we are by far not finished with the action. And in order to get the story going again, I decided to bring back… the wolves! And since I updated in such haste last time, let me answer all the questions that have been raised in your reviews for both past two chapters;

**Jackie;** I thought about that too, but there is a reason why Edward has the same powers as Bella. You will find out more in a future chapter, promise!

**Coffeeholic7;** Yeah, you're right it's more like jail than a cave. The cave was actually meant to be a kind of prison, since the whole idea of Bella's parents being kept inside a cave actually came from Plato's myth "The Cave", or as it goes in Greek "Το Σπήλαιο".

**Twird96;** Bella's parents have imprinted too. Maybe I should have mentioned that sooner… ^_^

**TheSwordAndTheRose1989;** No question to answer here. I just wanted to say a huge; THANK YOU!

**Sunrisen;** I'm really glad I escaped the pitchfork.

**Swif****tDestiny;** another huge THANK YOU is in order here!

**Southfloyd-augustrose;** heh… you're probably right… I'll try to be more careful; scout's honor!

**Acullen4evr;** don't worry; the story won't turn to M. I'm just thinking an oneshot that I might write concerning this chapter after I finish this story. I'm glad you keep reading!

I believe this is it. I hope you will enjoy reading the next chapter and don't forget; reviews make writers happy! ^_^

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**AN UNEXPECTED VISIT.**

_All I could feel was his hands roaming my body. All I could sense was his perfect body trembling under my fingertips. All I could see now was him. The perfectly sculptured muscles of his chest, his tussled bronze hair, his face, his eyes. And I didn't want to see or feel anything else in my life. Ever again. _

I looked outside the window. I could see the sun was now high in the sky, even though a human would be unable to tell due to the clouds that had gathered overhead. I shifted my head on Edward's chest so that I could face him. He had his eyes closed, looking more serene than I had ever seen him.

I smiled and went back to what I was doing for the past five minutes. As unbelievable as it sounded I was listening to his beating heart. I could finally get what he had found so mesmerizing about my heartbeat. I could bet that, if I wanted to, I would be able to just stay here, never moving, just listening to his heartbeat. If he didn't come up with something more interesting to entertain me that is. Edward opened his eyes and smiled at me.

"You know I feel so relaxed right now I believe I could actually sleep." Oh, right. I hadn't told him about that yet. I grinned slyly; he was bound to like that. "Why are you grinning, love?"

"Oh, nothing specific. I just realized I forgot to inform you about something that comes with being a god." He looked at me perplexed and then his eyes widened in realisation.

"Really? I can sleep? But I don't feel tired…"

"It doesn't work like it does on humans, as weird as that sounds when _I_'m saying it. You will never feel tired, but when you feel stressed, or just feel like sleeping, you can clear your mind and you will fall asleep. It works, you know. That's how I got to communicate with my parents." Edward was still looking at me wide-eyed and I felt somehow sheepish _I _could surprise _him_. It was an interesting twist of events to say the least.

"Anything else I should know?" he asked casually.

"Well as far as breathing goes, you might have noticed that it's the same rules as with vampires apply; no need for air. Your body temperature is normal -human normal- and the rest of the human traits you have are crying and of course blushing." I said and made a face causing him to try fighting back his laughter. "Yeah, I guess I would like to avoid that one but, in overall, I can't complain. As you noticed you have some god traits too; that glow around your body and of course your eye color."

"What's wrong with my eye color?" he asked confused.

"I forgot you haven't looked into a mirror yet. Nothing is wrong, technically. Your eyes just look like mine now." I said and then explained why his eyes had changed color and what this color depicted.

"I can live with that." He said moving some hair away from my face so he could get a better view of my eyes. I smiled at him and continued.

"Of course on you it won't be such a huge difference but I had to change their color back to brown in order not to freak people out. It really sucks you know. It makes my eyes completely dry. They almost feel like they are not mine."

"And what about that glow? It's not really that intense in the sunlight, it is bound to be less noted by humans and I actually like it on you, but I believe during the night time or in close, dark spaces it _might_ make you stand out in the crowd…" I laughed at his playful mood and carried on with my explanation.

"We can hide that too. Just concentrate to how your skin would look like without the glow and it will be concealed. It will come almost naturally. Watch me." I concentrated and in a few seconds the glow was gone from my skin. Then I made it appear again. "It's not hard at all. Give it a try." He closed his eyes and concentrated. Seconds later the glowing was gone. He observed his hand as he willed it to change back.

"Not hard at all. Just a bit weird." He said smiling. I smiled back.

"So the ex vampire thinks gods are weird? Gee, thanks Edward." He started laughing, unable to stop himself this time.

"Glad you still found me amusing."

"Always love." He promised. It was my turn to laugh and he soon joined me. I was still a little dazed with the way things had evolved from one day to the next. My worries of course were far from over, but with Edward here with me I was sure I would overcome everything that was to come. "So, is that all?" He asked, stopping my train of thoughts.

"One more detail." I said grinning again. "Though, as you probably realized yourself, you don't feel hungry or thirsty and actually you will never have either one of those feelings again, you can eat and drink anything you please. Just for concealment reasons or purely in order to enjoy yourself." He was almost gapping this time.

"Really?" I understood that all that information was too much for him to take in immediately, still I couldn't help teasing him a little;

"You might consider enriching your vocabulary, but yeah, really."

"Right then. I can live with that too." He said and pulled me closer to his body.

"Anything else you would like to know?"

"As a matter of fact, you have already told me everything concerning your parents' imprisonment, but I can't help wondering if you plan breaking them out. Because knowing you, you're definitely planning on breaking them out." I knew the conversation was bound to get to that point. I explained everything about my parents' plan and what I would have to do.

"As you understand in about a week I will have to make a small excursion to the underworld." I tried to look calmer than I felt but it didn't seem to work. For someone who couldn't read my mind at the moment, Edward sure knew how to see right through me.

"No, you are not going to the underworld."

"But I have to, my parents are trapped there, I have to save them!" I protested as Edward smiled at me and once again I felt I had misunderstood what he was saying.

"What I meant was that you don't have to go there alone. _We_ are going to help your parents. I promised I will never leave you alone again and I meant every word I said. I'm coming with you."

"But Edward it might be dangerous. You could easily get…" What was I going to say? Killed? I saw his face light up triumphantly as he understood I was running out of reasons for him to stay back. And I couldn't help to think that with Edward there, my chances to free my parents were much better than if I was going alone.

"So my guess is that I'm coming with you?"

"Okay, okay. You can come."

"Good. You know, even now that I know you are immortal, I believe I would be having an anxiety attack if I was to stay back."

"And I believe you missed the meaning of the word 'immortal'. It kind of stands for 'unable to die', just for your information."

"Very funny Bella." He was looking at me like he was annoyed, but I hadn't missed his lips twitching a little bit as he spoke.

"Now that we're at it, is there anything else you want to know?"

"Everything." I looked at him confused. Aside the fact that he looked so perfect I had to fight my urge to kiss him senseless, he appeared to be serious.

"Glad we cleared _that_ out." I stated confused making him chuckle.

"I meant I want to now everything you did while I was away."

"Oh. Okay, well the first two and a half months weren't that much interesting. I was too miserable to do anything. I rarely left my room and anyways I looked like a zombie most of the time." I realized I shouldn't have said that since Edward looked in tremendous pain, like someone had just set him on fire. "Hey, don't do that!" I said as I shifted my body in order to be able to kiss him. "I'm more than fine now as you can see."

"_You are more than fine now_." He said bitterly almost repeating my words. "I can't believe you still even want to be near me let alone love me after all that I did to you." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Don't go to that dark place again Edward. I love you and you deserve to be loved more than anyone I've ever met. There's nothing you can do about _that_. And I'm sure this time." That seemed to pull him from his moods. We kissed again for an immeasurable moment and then he asked me to tell him about the rest of my time while he was away. Since he knew about the powers' part, I went on talking about my shopping excursion with Angela, the reaction of the male population of the school to my new appearance -which he didn't like- and my new car -which, once he found out what it was, he did like.

"And you can actually drive that?" The disbelief in his voice would have been insulting if I didn't remember how I used to drive as a human.

"My reflexes are much better right now. Plus along with the car came an added bonus." And then I told him about hearing his voice when I was driving too fast and mine and my parents' assumption about adrenalin rushes. "Now that I think about it again, I believe I heard your voice because deep down I knew you still loved me. My subconscious seems to be in a good shape after all."

"You… you risked your life to hear…" He looked as pale as he was when he was a vampire.

"All I risked was crushing my car. Immortal remember? And it wasn't much of a risk anyways; nowadays I don't seem to have problems when driving in high speed." He still didn't look convinced, but instead of saying anything further, he held me tighter in his embrace. I can't say I objected.

"So is that all?" As a matter of fact it wasn't. I still had to explain about the werewolves and Victoria. The moment I told him that I had met the pack however, he interrupted me once again. He had shifted his weight to his elbows so that he could be able to look straight at my face.

"Just to get it straight," He started with a voice too even to mean anything good for me "while the vampires were gone you befriended the werewolves?" I could see no way to get away with this so I simply nodded 'yes'. He looked at me emotionlessly for a second. Then he simply stated;

"But of course." He fell back to his pillow, his hands folded behind his head, looking at the sealing exasperated.

"Hey! Don't be like that. You know I was in no real danger." He still looked at the sealing. I decided to persuade him otherwise. I touched his bare chest with my fingertips and traced a line up to his collarbone as softly as I could, while in the same time approached my face to his whispering; "Come on love. You can't be mad about that now, can you? _Please_ don't be mad at me…" To my great satisfaction I saw his eyes rolling a little to the back of his head as I noticed him tremble ever so slightly. He looked back at me finally taking his eyes from the sealing.

"I'm not mad at you; I'm mad at myself. And don't think you can win any argument like that." He spoke the last sentence without sounding like he really believed it. I decided to give it a shot.

"Like what, love?" I whispered to his ear while entangling my figures in his hair. This time he moaned. Instead of answering, he decided to show me how my newly discovered 'weapon' affected him. I could no longer see the sun from my window when he spoke again.

"I still don't like the wolves." I laughed at his almost childish reaction. I liked seeing this other, more relaxed, side of him.

"Don't see the wolves as you did when you where a vampire. You know, technically, you are in charge of them now."

"I am?" He was confused again. I resolved I also liked seeing him confused; he looked unbelievably innocent. I explained what my parents' had told me and that since he also had my powers now, he was probably in charge of the werewolves too. He seemed like he was going to have a field day out of it.

"Don't even think about that. The wolves have to obey to whatever their alpha, in this case you and me, orders them to do. They have no saying over that matter. If you give them an order and they feel compelled to do it, they are bound to know something is off. And though I trust the pack, it is better that we keep this between us for now."

"I should better stay away from the wolves anyways, at least for now." It was my turn to be confused.

"Why do you have to stay away from them?"

"I can hide the glow and I could change my eyes too, but there is no way I can change the way I smell or my body heat. And then there is this." He said as he took my hand and placed it over his beating heart. I got the point. "There is no way they'll miss that one."

"We could probably work out the body temperature with using our power over ice but you are right, of course. It will be hard to conceal everything. And just for the record, I like the way you smell." And I really did. His scent had something evasively flowery about it too but, contrary to mine which was clearly feminine, his had a definite masculine undertone. Something like musk that vaguely reminded me of the ocean breeze in a sunlit day, but I couldn't put my finger on it exactly. I guess he just smelled like Edward.

"I prefer the way you smell now too. Still flowery but more intense than ever. And thankfully not edible at all. So new and yet so much like you." He looked at me smiling. "I don't make any sense at all, do I?" I laughed shaking my head.

"You actually make perfect sense. So you will have to stay away from the wolves. That might be easy now that your family is back. The wolves will probably mostly stay in La Push now. Yet, you should reconsider your feelings towards them." He made a face, dismissing my words. "No, listen to me for a second…" And I went on explaining how the pack had led Laurent away that day in the meadow and then his and Victoria's plans to kill me. He was furious.

"How dared he! If I was there I would have… Damn it! I was looking for them in South America and all the time they were here!" I sensed the temperature of the room rising.

"Edward, if you don't want to set the room on fire, you'd better relax." He looked at my eyes and took in a long breath. That seemed to relax him since the temperature returned to normal. He closed his eyes and I begun caressing his face trying to relax him further. A few minutes later he opened his eyes and locked them with mine.

"And then I try to convince you that the werewolves are dangerous when they get angry. I feel like a newborn again."

"It's okay, don't worry. It's only natural. Don't forget you have had no real training yet. It is remarkable that you managed to calm yourself just from what you saw in my memories." And it was true. I had almost set the school on fire, even if I had already trained, just because Mike was hitting on me. I told him that and he seemed a little more at ease but still pissed off. Only with Mike this time. Then I remembered something he had said and tried to distract him with it. "What did you mean when you said that you were looking for them?" He inhaled deeply again and started explaining;

"When I left I wanted to make sure no one would hurt you while I was away. So I went after Victoria, trying my hand in tracing. To put it plainly, I seem to majorly suck at it. I followed what now appears to have been a fake lead all the way to Brazil. I found nothing else there. Now I know why."

"After the incident with Laurent she hasn't appeared anywhere near Forks. I checked on her and she seems to be in Seattle. I just can't understand what she is doing there. Problem is, I can't spend all day watching out for her." He looked at me reassuringly.

"Don't worry, love. I will make sure she won't bother you." His protective side was coming up again and I couldn't help but feel reassured. I was about to ask him if he had heard something odd going on in Seattle, when the light, chilly breeze coming from the open window brought something else with it than the rich scent of the forest and the light rain.

"What is that scent?" Edward asked. "It smells like an animal, but far more… woodsy?" he looked surprised by his own conclusion.

"It's the wolves." I explained and he frowned.

"They don't smell like that."

"They do when you are a god." I scanned their minds and, judging by the way he looked, so did Edward. They were coming to tell me the Cullens had returned. I took a quick glimpse of Edward, who was still next to me, with the white cotton sheet barely covering his lower body; I believe I had gotten the point of the Cullens returning all right. "You better hide somewhere or else they will get your scent or hear your heartbeat."

He was getting angry again but he complied. I swiftly rose from the bed and dressed as quickly as I could. Though I moved in superhuman speed it proved a little hard to find all my clothes. I turned around to find out Edward had only put on his jeans. He really wasn't making being away from him -even if it was for a couple of minutes- any easier.

"I'll morph into a falcon again and wait on one of the nearby trees."

"And I will keep my mind open for you so you can listen to the conversation."

"I hate that I'm being driven away by a bunch of dogs. If that Jacob guy, who appears to have a crush on you, even thinks something like _that _about you, I'm going to morph in something really big and crash him, I swear." I was ready to laugh when I looked at his face; he meant every word he had said. He didn't give me a chance to talk as he morphed and flew out the window. I opened my mind to him.

'_Don't hurt them love.'_

'_I can't promise anything'_ I gave my secret weapon another go.

'_Please?'_

'_Can you __**not**__ do this when I try to be decisive?'_ He asked, half pleadingly.

'_No.'_

'_Thanks…'_ He muttered. I looked at my reflection on the living room's mirror making sure I looked as human as possible. I rubbed my eyes annoyed from how dry they felt. I heard the doorbell ring and went to open the door.

'_Slow down Bella!'_ I heard Edward say through his thoughts. _'No human would be able to reach the door so fast. And make some noise.'_

'_Thank you love.'_

'_That's why I'm here. You think you can handle it?'_

'_Trust me my acting skills have improved.'_ I tried to stomp my feet a little on the floor as I walked. I felt a bit stupid to be honest. _'I should get an award for all the acting I've done lately, especially considering I mostly improvise.'_ I opened the door and faced a grim looking -and shirtless- Jacob. He obviously thought the news he was bringing would crush me, so I prepared to act crushed. I should be okay; I had a lot of practice on the subject.

'_Sorry love.'_

'_Not now Edward.'_

"Hi, Bells."

"Hey there Jacob! Did we have any plans for today? I completely forgot!" That should be a good start.

"No. No we hadn't. It's just that… look Bells something came up and the pack and I thought you should know."

"Are the others here too?" I already knew they where here. They were waiting for Jake to break the news to me so they could run the rest of their patrols. I could listen in their thoughts that they were all very worried and sorry for me.

"Yeah, they are all here in the woods but they are in their wolf form. I… we have to leave soon."

"Oh. So you are not coming in?" I tried to sound sorry and I must have overdone it because Jake's face lit up for a second. So he really did have a crush on me. Oops.

"I would like to, but I have to go."

'_In your dreams mutt.'_ An angry voice echoed inside my head.

'_Edward, you're not helping.'_

'_Sorry love.'_

"So what did you want to tell me? You look pretty worked up." Jacob started shifting his weight from his right leg to his left one and vise versa. I felt sorry for him. He didn't have to go through all this.

"I don't know how to put it. Okay, I might as well as do it fast; the Cullens are back Bella. Edward is back." No kidding. I did my best to look shocked. I opened my mouth slightly and looked straight to his eyes without speaking. I closed and opened my mouth a couple of times without making any sound, while using my powers over water to make my eyes look humid.

'_Oh, God Bells. Why did he have to come back?' _Jacob felt guilty; really, truly and deeply guilty, for making me feel bad. I decided to tone it down a little.

"Are you sure Jake?" I made my voice tremble a little.

"I'm afraid I'm sure. I haven't seen _him_ yet but all the bloodsuckers are here, the whole coven." I really didn't like the way he called the Cullens, but then again Edward had called him a 'mutt' so I guessed that's just how things went between them.

"Oh, I see. Thank you for letting me know Jake."

"Nothing Bells. If there is anything I can do…"

"No, it's okay. I can handle it, I think."

"Don't let a bunch of leeches get you down Bells. You can ask anything from me. I'll help you out I promise." Now _I_ felt guilty.

"Trust me Jake I can handle it." He didn't believe me, I could tell. He was sure there was a break-down coming when he left. Then I listened to his next thought. Oh-oh.

'_Edward don't hurt him.'_

'_What does he think he's doing?'_ Jacob took a step forward and hugged me with what would have been a bone crushing hug if I were still human. _'Tell him to get his hands off you or I'll cut them off!'_ I tried to ignore Edward as I hugged Jacob back.

"I'm not breaking down Jake. Really." He let me go as the rest of the pack told him they had to move.

"Anything you need Bells, just tell me."

'_I'm going to hurt him.'_

"If I need anything you will be the first to call." But if you don't leave now I'll have to call the paramedics. He turned to leave and then turned back. He sniffed the air around me.

"You bought a new perfume by the way?" What?

'_My thoughts exactly. What is the mutt talking about?'_

"Perfume?"

"Yeah. Or maybe a new shower gel? I'm not really good in telling which is which. Too many girl products out there for my taste. The scent is all over you." What scent? Oh! I had spent all day with Edward; he must have picked up his scent.

"Yeah, I did. You like it?"

"Smells great, but I like your natural scent more. That scent would fit better to a guy. Don't get me wrong."

"Oh, okay."

"I'll be seeing you." With that he ran to the forest and I heard him morphing into a wolf.

'_It was about time'_ Edward grunted.

'_Wait till they are far enough and then morph back. I'll be in the living room.'_ I stopped our mind connection and went back inside the house sighing in relief; that had been close.

I went to the living room and waited for the pack to move far enough. When I could no longer hear their thoughts I changed my eyes back to normal and waited for Edward to come in. I heard him flying through the window and then morph back. In a fraction of a second he had climbed down the stairs and was entering the living room. I ran straight to him and fell in his arms.

"That was too close."

"Yeah it was. If that mutt had stayed a little longer I would have attacked him."

"Not what I meant. Jake caught your scent."

"I heard that." He made a strange face.

"What?"

"As a vampire I used to smell really bad to them. It's an interesting change." Then a sly grin made its appearance. "Though I don't really mind you having my scent all over you." He admitted sheepishly as I laughed again, realizing he really enjoyed others knowing that it was _his_ scent that was all over me.

"So, how did my acting skills go? Did I pass the test?"

"With flying colors. So what do we do now?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I think we have to tell my family. If we don't go soon, Alice is bound to come knocking on your door." I couldn't bring myself to laugh on this one. Alice could be really scary if she wanted to.

"Okay, let's go then."

"Wait a second. I didn't mean right now." He had my favorite grin on. It wasn't that hard to get into his mood. I kissed him with all I had as he scooped me in his arms, bridal style, causing me to giggle. He kissed me again and carried me to the bedroom. I resolved Alice could wait a little longer.


	16. Victoria's Plan

Hello once again; it took me a tad longer, but here is the new chapter of this story. And if I'm not mistaken, it must be the largest one I've ever written -up to now that is. Once again, I would like to thank all my amazing reviewers who have taken the time to review my story and help me improve; no words can express how thankful I am, but still I'm going to try; THANK YOU! Now to address some of your questions;

Jackie; First of all, thank you for trusting my writing skills (though I don't know if I'm really that good :p) And don't worry about Edward; I just couldn't resist writing a chapter were his jealous side took over… He-he… I'm evil, I know…

Aculllen4evr; I'll try my best in updating, but it's probably going to be once a week… college is killing me… but I promise there will be more Edward blushing to come! Thanks for reviewing!

Irene90; don't worry; Edward's training will be a great part of the next chapter, scouts' honor!

SwiftDestiny; I'm really glad you like the way I approach Bella's parents escape. I really try not to make the whole process of giving new information tiresome and I'm happy it's working! As far as the wolves and the vampires getting along, you will find out more in a couple of chapters. But, a new vision is included in this chapter, so you might get a hint from that! Thank you for the review!

B4bystar; I'm not yet sure if Jacob is even going to imprint in this story… maybe if I one day write a sequel he will imprint. This story will mostly be focused on how Bella and Edward face their new status as gods. You did give me something to think about though… Any ways, thank you for reviewing!

Sol Swan Cullen; Yeah, you will probably see Edward relaxing a little around the wolves. And even though I haven't yet decided if Jacob will imprint in this story, I will make sure his friendship with Bella will come out intact.

In general this is the chapter where you will find out how the Cullens react to Edward, plus something more. But, I won't keep you any longer! Here is the latest chapter of the story; and don't forget; review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**VICTORIA'S PLAN. **

"_Wait a second. I didn't mean right now." He had my favorite grin on. It wasn't that hard to get into his mood. I kissed him with all I had as he scooped me in his arms, bridal style, causing me to giggle. He kissed me again and carried me to the bedroom. I resolved Alice could wait a little longer._

When we finally got around getting dressed, the sun had already set. I picked up a clean pair of jeans from the closet and a red blouse that let my shoulders bare, while Edward was forced to wear the same clothes he had on yesterday.

"So are we just going to show up at your house and tell everyone that you turned out to be my other half and thus changed from a vampire to a god?" I was still a little -okay a lot, but I wasn't going to let it show- afraid of how his family would react to his changes.

"Not in so many words but yes." He shrugged his shoulders like it was the simplest thing in the world. I just whished I had his confidence. "So, how are we getting there?"

"At first we'd better check to see they really are at the house."

"Oh, are you going to project their location?" I was happily surprised about how easily he adapted to the changes he had undergone. But then again, hadn't I always thought of him as a Greek god? Maybe he finally turned into what he was always meant to be.

"Why don't you do it? Practice makes perfect." He grinned sheepishly.

"I know love. What do you think I was doing all day? Not that we seem to need any improvement in _that_ area but…" I picked up a pillow and threw it at him. He wasn't expecting the attack so he took the blow straight in the chest. His grin turned evil. He picked up the pillow and threw it back to me. By the time I caught it he had gotten his hands on a second pillow. I didn't manage to dodge that one.

"I can't believe you just did that!"

"You started it love." I moved towards him as he was ready to throw me a third pillow and kissed him straight on the lips effectively ending the pillow fight. He sighed contently and just stood there with me in his arms simply looking at my eyes. As much as I hated to ruin the moment, we really had to tell his family if we didn't want to face Alice's wrath.

"We have to go to your family Edward." He sighed again.

"I know we do." He reluctantly took his hands from my waist and headed towards the mirror. He looked at his image for a moment and then grinned at me. He concentrated and seconds later the image of his family came to sight. They were all gathered in his house. All the sheets were removed by now and it looked just like the last time I saw it as a human. I was right to be afraid; Alice already seemed pissed off. She was in the living room with Rose, Jasper and Emmett.

"They have been gone all day and I can't see anything. I guess it's because Bella is with him so I can't see either of them. It's getting on my nerves. Where are they?" Jasper was taking all her ranting quite calmly. He actually looked a little amused. But it was Emmett, who at the moment was watching a football match on the television -which was the only source of light in the room- that answered.

"I don't think they want to be found Alice. I don't know if you noticed but all we found in Edward's room was Bella's jacket and a half burned sheet. I would say someone was getting too hot, if you get me." Jasper actually laughed at his comment and, surprisingly, so did Rosalie. I just cursed myself. So that's were I left my jacket. I hit my head with my palm making quite a funny sound sending Edward to chuckles too. I gave him an angry glance that cut his laughing short, but said nothing as Alice continued her ranting;

"Yeah, very funny Emmett." She was giving Jasper a similar glance as I had shot Edward seconds ago. He stopped laughing too. "I don't care what they are doing but if they are not back in an hour, I'll go looking for them!" Edward let the image on the mirror fade.

"I think that's our queue." I couldn't agree more.

"I don't think we will be able to use my car to get there. It's easily recognized and the whole pack has already seen it." He nodded affirmative.

"I believe we should go by air. Do you want it to be falcons again or something else?" He was right, of course, but I had a better idea. I took a look outside the window. The moon would be almost full but it wouldn't come up for at least three more hours. And anyways, it was really cloudy outside.

"Would you like to go flying without morphing into an animal?" I saw his face lit up as the prospect of flying like that got to his head. Then he frowned.

"Won't the wolves see us?"

"I highly doubt it. The forest is too thick to allow them free view to the sky and they will not be hanging around your house anyways. Plus, it's too dark for any human to see us." His grin returned.

"If you put it that way. Let me give it a try first." He closed his eyes and, in less than a second, shot up in the air hovering in the middle of the room. He opened his eyes with a triumphant smile that soon faded as he saw my expression. I was staring at him wide eyed with my mouth slightly open. It wasn't only because he looked unbelievably beautiful with his hands stretched out as he hovered. It was also the fact that he had managed to lift himself from the floor so effortlessly; like he was doing it for his whole life.

"Did I do something wrong?" I was worrying him. Great.

"No! As a matter of fact you were doing great." I smiled and he relaxed a bit, approaching me without touching the ground. "I'm just really happy about how easy all this is for you." He smiled back in understanding. I took off from the floor and kissed him. "Wow." I was grinning like a maniac again.

"What?" He looked confused and, as a result, gorgeous.

"I just kissed you while we were both flying. If anyone had told me ten days ago, I would have strongly suggested he or she got immediately hospitalized." That made him laugh again and I soon followed his example.

"So, are we going?" I reached out the window with my mind as Edward did the same. There was no sign of the wolves or any other human or supernatural being in a fifteen mile radius.

"I guess we are." I flew out of the window and he followed me. We started gaining height and I heard him gasp. I turned to look at him and found him smiling almost childlike. I once again started battling my urge to kiss him; the prognostics weren't good. I was losing big time. I knew very well that if I started kissing him now we would have to land, so I decided to talk to him instead. I opened my mind to him and as soon as he sensed what I wanted to do he followed suit.

"_Having fun?"_

"_Fun? 'Fun' can't even begin to describe it! I wonder how you stand walking when you can do this!"_ I laughed through our connection.

"_If it wasn't so easy to be spotted I would be flying 24/7 trust me. Truth is however, that this is the first flight of that kind I really enjoy."_

"_How so?"_

"_Let's put it this way; last time I flew like that I was trying to break the sound barrier in order to get to you before the Volturi guard."_

"_Oh."_

"_Exactly."_

"_You know, I think you should go in the house first, just to give them a little warning."_ I sighed knowing this wouldn't be easy. _"You're over thinking it love. They will be okay with this, trust me."_

"_Okay, I'll do it."_ I agreed, letting his confidence affect me.

"_I'll be right outside. If you need any help I'll just brake into the house."_ He was playful again and that helped me relax. I could now see the house in the distance.

"_Let's check no one else is here before we approach the house."_ No one was near the house except the six vampires that were mostly gathered in the living room, with the only exception being Carlisle who was in his office. _"You'd better stay here where they can't smell or hear you. I'll keep my mind open for you so you will know when to come."_

"_It will all go great love. You'll see."_ Edward had sensed my discomfort but he was certain everything would work out and that reassured me.

"_Okay then. Wish me luck."_ I kept moving towards the house while he landed on a nearby oak tree.

"_You don't need it love."_ I hoped he was right. I reached the front door and knocked. I heard light, almost dance-like footsteps from inside the door; Alice was coming. I gulped and Edward snickered; I tried to ignore him as the door opened and a very joyful Alice pulled me in for a hug. Then she noticed Edward wasn't with me.

"Hi there Bella. Why isn't Edward with you?" The rest of the family was starting to gather behind Alice, including Carlisle who had heard me knocking the door. "Is everything all right? Did something happen to Edward?" They were all jumping to conclusions and all of them were wrong, of course.

"Nothing _bad_ happened, don't worry. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course! Sorry about that. I just got worried." I stepped inside and Alice closed the door.

"Better keep the door open Alice." Or Edward might have to break it. Edward started laughing again and that boosted my comfort. Alice looked at me confused, but complied.

"So," Emmett began "how comes you're here? I thought Edward was keeping you occupied." He started snickering along with the others. Edward grunted and I decided to retort.

"To tell you the truth, I might not be standing here right now if Alice hadn't given me and Edward an hour to get here before coming to search for us." Their laughter was cut short as they looked at me bewildered. Edward on the other hand found it as entertaining as I did.

"How did you know about that?" Jasper asked. "You weren't here when Alice said that! Or were you?" He added looking back at the living room, almost as if he was trying to find where I had hid the cameras.

"No I wasn't anywhere near the house, but I have my way to find out things." They still looked bewildered. "I'm a goddess, remember?"

"Oh, I see." Esme said, trying to break out of the shock. "And why are you here? Just because of Alice's deadline?" I laughed my now music laughter making them all smile. At least that broke the tension.

"Not really. I mean it did play an important enough role. You can be scary sometimes Alice." Emmett and Rose snickered while Esme, Carlisle and Jasper smiled in understanding. Alice didn't find it so funny_. _

"_I will have to agree with you love. For a pixie she can be really feisty, can't she?" _ I smiled at Edward's comment and kept on talking.

"But I would have come anyways. Once again you might want to sit down for this one."

"Another gods' issue then?" Rosalie asked as she took a seat on the couch.

"Exactly." They all sat down and turned their eyes on me waiting for an explanation. "Okay, there's no way around this one, so here it goes; do you know what an imprint is?" Emmet, Alice and Jasper nodded 'no', so Carlisle explained.

"I don't get it." Jasper said. "If it's a wolf thing, what does it have to do with you?" They all looked at me expectantly.

"Same thing applies to gods. Well short of…" I went on and explained everything about how the same principal worked on gods. Six wide smiles appeared on their faces.

"So you and Edward…" Esme started and I nodded 'yes'.

"That's great!" Alice exclaimed. "Why were you so afraid telling us? Why didn't Edward come with you?"

"Because there is more to it than just finding your other half." They fell silent again. I took in a deep breath.

"_Relax love. Everything will be fine. I'm here." _

"_You better be ready to enter the house anytime now."_

"_I'll fly closer. When you tell them I'll come in."_

"_All right. Here we go."_

"What more?" Esme asked clearly worried I hadn't spoken yet.

"It goes somehow like this; there is always a chance a god or, in my case for example, a goddess won't find his or her mate amongst the rest of our species. In that case, the god's other half gets his or her mate's powers. An exact duplicate of what the god or goddess in question can do." They had all stopped breathing and were looking at me with wide eyes.

"_I'm coming in. I'll be there in a few seconds."_

"Are you trying to say that Edward is as strong as you now?" Carlisle asked clearly in shock.

"Yes and no. A vampire body can't hold all that power inside."

"Is Edward hurt? You said he was fine!" Alice accused me.

"No, he isn't hurt at all, I can guarantee that. Let's just say his body had to adapt." Six gasps were heard as realization washed over them.

"But that would mean Edward has turned into…" Carlisle never got to continue his sentence as Edward flew through the open door and landed right next to me, shining gloriously in the almost dark room. They had stopped breathing once again only this time they had completely turned into statues. I couldn't blame them. I didn't even dare to read their minds.

"Don't panic. It's still me." Edward wrapped his hands around my waist and waited for his family to speak. Surprisingly, Emmett spoke first;

"How cool is_ that_?" Then they all started talking and moving together. Alice squeaked happily and came to hug as both. Jasper and Rosalie rose from the couch too and came towards us smiling, while Carlisle held Esme in his arms as they waited for the others to move so they could talk to us too; they were also smiling. I grinned back feeling unbelievably relieved. Emmett came to hug me and mock punch Edward, saying;

"It might have taken you almost a century but you sure picked the right one, didn't ya?" Suddenly cold water fell on his shoulders, just like yesterday. They all looked at me but I just grinned slyly as I looked at Edward.

"What? Only _you_ are allowed to throw water on Emmett?" They all started laughing, except, of course, Emmett.

"Why do I have the feeling this is going to happen more and more often from now on?" He murmured, causing me to almost burst into hysterics. Edward held me tighter in his arms. I managed to sober up in a few seconds.

"Thank you all; I was afraid you would take it… differently." How that family had managed to take me in and accept all the chances I brought in such a sort period of time was beyond me. Had they really accepted me? Was I a part of their family too? Could all this love I could sense from them be really appointed to me? And most importantly; _was I worth the trouble?_ I was really putting their lives in danger just by sitting inside their house.

"I told you so love." I turned my head to kiss him making Emmett clear his throat jokingly.

"If you don't want to get another cold shower, I suggest you stop that." Jasper consulted him.

"Don't sweat about it Bella." Rosalie said sensing my inner struggle. "If we were humans there would definitely have been a problem; a huge one. But as you know vampires can hold their own end of immortality quite well. And it seems inability to be a skeptic and instead accept life as it comes, seems to be part of the job description." I smiled at her too. Lately, it seemed that smiling and laughing was almost all I did. I didn't complain. And, by the way, when had all-about-me Rose turned into such an understanding being? Huh… interesting.

"So you have a beating heart now?" Carlisle asked, his medical interest kicking in, when he hugged Edward.

"Yeah. A beating heart, blood -even if the color is slightly off- and all that goes with it." Esme gave both of us a motherly hug.

"I'm so happy you found each other." I hugged her back, unable to express the gratitude and love I felt at the moment differently. We answered all their questions in a general climate of euphoria. I couldn't believe things were turning up so great. I pulled myself closer to Edward and looked straight to his eyes smiling.

"And could you explain me why there was a half burned sheet in Edward's room?" I blushed and looked at Esme smiling shyly. Edward was, thankfully, more composed.

"As I found out, fire is tied to emotions. I kind of got over exited." I felt my cheeks burn as everyone in the room broke into laughter once more. I turned to look at Edward and suddenly I felt his body stiffen. Before I managed to ask what had happened I saw it too. Another vision.

_I was in a dark alley of a city, but obviously not in Forks. Something was moving in the alley right in frond of me and I stepped closer; I saw a young blond man, almost a boy although he seemed muscular, crouching over a woman of about the same age. In the beginning I couldn't realize what was happening. Then I saw the blood. I gasped knowing there was nothing I could do to help that woman. She couldn't have been much older than me and her life was already over._

_The man rose and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He turned towards were I was standing and only then did I see his eyes. They were red but nothing like Laurent's. __Laurent's were more like burgundy, a deep red close to the color of human blood. This man's eyes on the other hand were bright ruby, almost glowing in the darkness of the alley. I had never seen one before but there was no doubt in my mind; this man was a new born vampire._

"_Well done Riley." The cold almost mocking voice sounded all too familiar to me. Although I knew this was a vision and, even if it wasn't, I had no reason to be scared, I involuntarily froze into place unable to breathe. I didn't have to turn towards the voice to see whom it belonged to -as if I didn't already know- because Victoria moved right pass me in order to approach the newborn, now identified as Riley._

_She looked just as I remembered her, with the exception that my improved eyesight made her look even wilder, something I would previously venture to be impossible. Her orange hair flew around her as she stepped near Riley. For a reason I couldn't fathom, he was smiling adoringly at her._

"_Did I really do well?" Victoria smiled menacingly but he took it as__ praise. His smile widened._

"_Of course my dear. Now go gather the others. We might need to make an addition to our lines."_

"_We will not go find the girl yet?" The girl? __Could he mean me?_

"_There has been a change of plans. It seems that her vampire friends have returned to Forks. We will need reinforcements." Riley nodded in understanding and then the vision begun to fade. _

I was back in the Cullens living room. I looked at Edward frantically. His eyes were wide and his only reaction was to tighten his hands around my waist.

"It's going to be all right love. She is not going to hurt anyone, I promise." His words did nothing to the way I felt; I had never felt guiltier before in my life. Victoria was in a city somewhere near Forks, turning people into vampires so that she could get to me and killing even more in the process in order to sustain her army. I knew he felt my guilt too because he started rocking me back and forth gently, trying to relax me.

"Did you see that too?" Alice asked surprised. "That was the most vigorous, live vision I have ever had. Did it have something to do with you?" Edward explained that we could have visions too and then told the others what we had seen. I noticed that Jasper took a step backwards when the word 'newborns' came up like he was hit by an invisible force.

"I can't believe that woman!" Emmett seemed ready to punch somebody. "Scratch that out; calling her a woman would be an insult to the whole female sex! She is a complete psychopathic evil bi…"

"We got it Emmett." Rosalie interrupted him, placing one hand over his mouth so he wouldn't be able to finish his sentence.

"What's wrong Bella?" Carlisle asked. I was still unable to speak so Edward did it for me.

"She blames herself for what Victoria is doing. Which is silly of course." He added looking back to me.

"Why would you be blaming yourself?" Jasper asked having finally decided to join the conversation. I looked at Edward's eyes and all the love and concern I saw in them gave me my voice back.

"She is killing and turning people just to get to me. Isn't that enough?" They all fell silent for a second.

"Bella, Victoria seeks revenge not just on you but on all of us." Carlisle said. "She just targeted you thinking you would be the weakest link." Emmett snorted. "Yes Emmett, we all know that was stupid of her, but I'm not sure she even knows gods exist and, even if she does, she certainly doesn't know that Bella is one of them, let alone their princess." Carlisle concluded. Now it was my time to snort; the word 'princess' was seriously starting getting on my nerves. Edward smiled at my reaction;

"You _are_ a princess you know."

"No I'm not. There is no kingdom, no throne and definitely no princess!" I stated firmly, but he didn't look convinced. I grinned evilly at him. "And of course, if I'm a princess, you are a prince." His smile dispersed as quickly as it had appeared as Emmett's laughter boomed inside the room, covering any other sound.

"I think I got your point love."

"I think so too."

"Carlisle is right you know." Esme reassured me. "She just targeted you because she believes you are still human and thus an easy target." I couldn't resist the logic in their words. I sighed and let my head fall on Edward's chest.

"So what are we going to do now?" Alice asked.

"If she is going to turn another vampire, she will need at least a week until she can use him or her in combat. Maybe more, depending on when the scene you saw is going to take place." Jasper said and deep down I suddenly realized he was speaking from experience. I would have to ask him about it one day. "Main problem is we can't just go searching every city in the area looking for Victoria."

"Maybe we won't have to search every city. I believe Victoria is in Seattle." Rose said.

"How comes?" I was under the same impression too, but I was mostly based on instinct.

"Wait here for a second." She ran to the kitchen and grabbed something that was previously lying on the table. By the sound of it, I guessed it was a newspaper; I was right. "Read what it says here." She said giving the paper to me and Edward, pointing an article that was covering the whole front page. The title was ominous; DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY.

Edward started reading out loud, so that everyone could hear. The article was all about various disappearances -I guessed those were the ones that had been turned- and then about victims' corpses left half hidden. I also guessed that screamed newborn from miles for anyone knowing where to look for the signs. It was worse than I feared. Once he finished reading the article, Jasper spoke again;

"That makes no difference. Seattle is a huge city and Victoria knows how to hide. We will never find her there."

"And even if we did," I added grudgingly "it would still make little difference." They all looked at me confused except from Edward. He locked his eyes with mine in silent understanding.

"You are right." He said thoughtful. "Even if we do find her it is possible that she will have a small army with her…"

"…and we can't get involved in a fight without being noticed…"

"…plus, we will be unable to use our powers in the open. We are aiming for secrecy after all."

"So we will just have to wait for her…"

"…to come to us. Anyways our other 'obligations' will be settled in a week or so…"

"…and then we will be able to act more freely without having to care about the wolves finding out. It sucks, but…"

"…it's the only way. I know." He sighed and turned to look at the others with me following his example. They were frozen in place once again.

"What?" We both asked.

"How did you just do that?" Emmett asked.

"Did what?" We asked again in unison, shooting confused glances first to them and then to each other.

"You completed each other's sentences like you knew exactly what the other was thinking." Esme explained.

"Oh." I hadn't even realized we did that. We must have connected our minds involuntarily, because right now I couldn't hear Edward's thoughts and I knew neither could he. For a strange reason I didn't mind at all. On the contrary, I had an odd sense of self fulfillment; Edward's smile told me he felt the same. "Not a clue." I simply answered Emmett. He shrugged his shoulders dismissing my answer, classifying the whole event under the 'freaky gods' stuff' category in his head.

"What are those obligations you spoke about Edward?" Carlisle's scientific curiosity had woken again.

"You will know in a weeks time trust me." His eyes were shining fiercely as he spoke, full of determination, and Carlisle let the subject drop, realizing Edward had a good reason to keep it from him. I hoped that after we broke my parents out and stopped Victoria, life could turn a little more normal. A sudden and unexpected thought crossed my mind triggered by the word 'normal'. Tomorrow was Monday. And in plain English, Monday equaled with school. I turned to Edward.

"We might have another small problem." He looked at me with caution. "Nothing that big, don't worry, but we did agree you have to avoid the wolves, right?" He nodded 'yes'.

"Why does he have to avoid the wolves?" Alice asked.

"Just in case they get a little curious once they realize I have a heartbeat."

"Oh, _that_."

"Yeah that. Why did you bring it up love?"

"Because tomorrow is a school day and since Charlie is the chief of the police here at Forks, _I_ have to go. _You_ on the other hand might have a problem with that. The school is a neutral territory if I understand the treaty correctly. Any one of the pack could appear there in no time." He groaned.

"I guess I will have to be invisible for the next week won't I?"

"I'm afraid so. As a matter of fact it would be better if everyone thought you didn't return with the rest of you family." As I spoke, he turned to address Carlisle.

"Have you told anyone I have returned with you?"

"No, I didn't have time yet. I have only just informed the hospital I will be going back. I had to invent a story about Esme not liking the way of life in L.A. They didn't seem to mind, I might add." Edward considered the situation for a second and then said;

"You could claim I will stay with some relatives for the moment and I will play dead -figuratively speaking- for the rest of the week. I will probably have to stay here since Bella's house will be over-patrolled." I sighed in exasperation. I finally had Edward back, a place to be alone with him and still, despite all my powers, I couldn't make the rest of the world to leave us alone. "Yeah, I know love." He added understanding what my sigh stood for. Emmett snickered again and Rose elbowed him right on the ribs. A dull thud was heard; that one must have hurt. At least he sobered up.

"It's not that you will miss any great opportunities." He said looking at Edward while rubbing his left side. "Charlie will be there all the time. It's a miracle how you avoided him today." I snorted and rolled my eyes, as Edward spoke for both of us.

"Charlie will be gone fishing till Tuesday and besides, Bella has her own house now." Everyone looked up, probably realizing what exactly we have been doing all day long. I tried to fight back my blush -quite unsuccessfully- and simply stated;

"I will take you to see it when all this madness is behind us." Emmett was ready to comment, but a sharp look from Edward made him shut up before he could utter a syllable. I turned to Edward and added through our connection; _"But you know I don't have to sleep and neither do you. You could just leave early in the morning; I don't think the wolves will come again today. They have other places to patrol too." _ He smiled my favorite smile again immediately catching my mood.

"I guess we will be leaving now." He said, earning confused looks. Instead of a further explanation, he grabbed my hand and turned towards the door. With a final; "See you in the morning" he flew out the door as I did the same. I could feel the confusion and awe coming from the six vampires inside the room we had just left.

"_Show off"_ I muttered through our connection making him laugh.

"_I merely meant for us to leave as fast as we could."_ I couldn't argue with that one. I flew home next to him trying to concentrate solely on the rest of the night we had ahead of us instead of focusing on the rest of our forthcoming problems and mostly trying to ignore the fact I would have to stay away from him for the most of the next day.

We entered my bedroom and before I could utter a single word, his lips had captured mine in a fiery kiss. Forgetting what I wanted to say, I simply let go of all thoughts and then let him take my worries and problems away in the way only he could.


	17. The Calm Before The Storm

Hi there everyone! I'm back with a new chapter as you can already tell. I would once again like to thank everyone who reviewed my story! You guys rock and I thank you for simply existing… I was thinking however; if every one of you that has subscribed me in their alert list reviewed, my reviews would like double… so what do you say? Want to give it a try? Pretty please? Anyways, let me return to those amazing individuals that have already reviewed and their questions;

**Jackie;** Glad you liked the new Edward after all!

**Acullen4evr;** you were probably right about the title, but on my defense, I was running low on imagination and desperately needed a title for the chapter so that I could post it :p… Anyways, I'm glad you enjoy the story so far (especially the parts with Emmet, which I love too!) and I promise I will keep doing my best!

**MissTwilightSweden;** I will have the Cullens return to high school eventually, but for now they will have to figure out how to face their new problems… but when the time comes, beware for some crazed school girls… and that's all I'm saying!

**C****offeeholic7****;** I'm afraid since Bella can't see them again until they break out, neither can Edward; but they are meeting quite soon; just hang in there a little longer!

**WiNgEd'AnGeL23****;** I'll try to keep you laughing; I promise! Even if that happens on Emmet expense.

**Twird96;** I really like you enjoy watered down Emmet; I do too!

And now, as far as the next chapter is concerned, I will simply have to state; I needed to put it in the story. I hope it partially pleases all you who wanted Edward back in school, until he does get back that is! I hope you enjoy it and don't forget; REVIEW!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM.**

_We entered my bedroom and before I could utter a single word, his lips had captured mine in a fiery kiss. Forgetting what I wanted to say, I simply let go of all thoughts and then let him take my worries and problems away in the way only he could._

A few hours later I realized I had to give him at least the basics of the training I had undergone before I left for school. I shifted form my position on the bed -unwillingly of course, since I was laying on his chest- and raised my head to look at his face. His eyes were transfixed on mine and, as a result, I lost my ability of forming full sentences. After a few more seconds of me not speaking a grin spread across his face. It just _had_ to be my favorite loop-sided grin; once again, he wasn't making things easier for me.

"Are you about to say something love? Not that I complain looking into your eyes but I really enjoyed the position you were in before this little staring contest of ours. If, on second thought, you are adamant on changing positions we could always…" His grin grew wider and, realizing what he had just suggested, I playfully hit him on the shoulder and gathered all my willpower not to follow his advice.

"I will be going to school in a couple of hours and I have to give you the basics in training. After that you can stay in the basement and train even after I've gone to school. I highly doubt the wolves will find you in there…" I added thoughtfully. "I've been blowing things up down there for a week now and no one seems to have noticed." He looked at me bewildered.

"Blowing things up?"

"Yeah, you'll see."

"I still don't like having to be away from you during the day… what if I morph into a small animal, a sparrow or something, and stay with you?" The thought was tempting, I had to admit, but before I agreed he groaned and dismissed the thought himself. "Then again how many sparrows have golden -glow in the dark- eyes?" I nodded in disappointment as he rose from the bed. We got dressed and I lead him to the basement.

"The walls of this room are able to absorb our powers. My parents' cell is made of the same material as this room…" after a little extra explanation from my part, I stood aside and watched him concentrate as he began his training. Once again, I was happily surprised with his ability to control his powers so easily. It was definitely going to help us with my parents' escape plan. Before I realized it -staring at Edward has to be able to make time fly, or else I can't explain it- I had to leave for school. Damn. Again.

"Edward, I am afraid I have to leave." He turned to look at me in one abrupt movement. His face was far too sad for me to bear. I ran straight to him and kissed him. A few seconds later, as expected, things were getting hotter and hotter.

"Now, please, do explain why can't you ditch school and stay here to do _that _for the rest of the day?" He whispered huskily as he gently nibbled my jaw line. Oh, I was considering it. More and more with every passing second. "As I have said in the past, ditching school occasionally can prove healthy…" I moaned desperately. He wasn't playing fair and, even worse, I didn't want him to. But I knew that a pack of some seriously pissed off werewolves were bound to knock on my door if I didn't show up for school. Still, I was at least not going to leave for school without giving Edward a taste of his own medicine.

I took a couple of steps behind so that he could no longer reach me and then, right when he was about to move towards me, I fell back to his embrace. I started undoing the top buttons of his shirt, while placing kisses on his collarbone and downwards as I unbuttoned his shirt. To my delight, it proved to be his turn to moan.

"Does that mean I finally made my point?" He asked almost out of breath.

"You do realize how much I want to stay here with you the whole day, right?" He nodded as I traced his now bare chest with my hands. I proceeded with kissing his jaw line, moving towards his lips but without actually touching them in any way. He was breathing unevenly now. "How much I would like to spend the whole night with you?" His lips parted as he moaned again and tilted his head backwards, allowing me better access to his neck while he tightened his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. "The whole week?" I added and finally captured his lips with mine.

His answer this time was one of the most passionate kisses we had ever shared -and there had been many lately. Before I knew, my back hit the wall and I found my legs wrapped around his waist like they had a will of their own. He was still kissing me so my concentration had gone astray once more. But I had to speak. I broke our kiss and looked straight into his dazzling and now utterly confused and slightly hurt eyes. I disentangled my legs from their previous position feeling a very real and physical pain from the lack of contact. As a response to my pain he groaned, obviously for the same reason.

"Oh, trust me Edward; you most definitely made your point. Maybe the fact that until seconds ago I was pinned against the wall is proof enough. Nevertheless, I have to leave or else I will have explanations to make. And though I can handle Charlie, I now have some horse sized wolves to answer to for my movements." He scoffed the second the wolves were mentioned and this time I couldn't blame him; for the first time since I met them I whished the pack was nowhere near my house. I sighed and buttoned his shirt again -seeing his bare chest really didn't help my determination- and grabbed his hand to lead him upstairs.

"Well, you still have thirty minutes or so before going to school." He said looking mischievous again. "Would you like to do something in particular, or should I suggest something?"

"I do want to do something in particular, but there is no way it will only take thirty minutes and you know it… Nice try though." I said grinning, making him roll his eyes.

"So what would you like to do?" I looked around and my eyes stopped, surprisingly, on the fridge. I realized Edward had yet to taste any type of food. If I remembered correctly, I still had some food in there from last Thursday, so I figured why not? "Bella, what are you thinking?"

"I was just wondering if you had ever eaten ice cream in your life…" I answered grinning. He stared at me wide eyed for a second, as if that thought had never crossed his mind.

"No, actually I haven't."

"Would you like to?"

"Yeah, I guess!" he said and started moving towards the kitchen, dragging me with him. I followed him laughing and grabbed two spoons as he reached for the ice cream. He opened the carton and looked at the chocolate ice cream suspiciously, almost as if he was trying to determine if he was doing this for real or not.

"It's not going to bite you, you know." I teased him taking a spoonful of the ice cream. He looked at me thoughtful as he mimicked my movements. The moment he tasted the ice cream his eyes widened and he looked at me completely surprised, still holding the spoon in his mouth. Without saying a word he took another spoonful and repeated his previous actions, appearing to be equally surprised by the result.

I couldn't see my facial expression, but I could feel the huge smile I was sporting at the moment was accompanied with watery eyes and flushed cheeks. I cleared my throat and spoke trying to remind myself why I had to go to school today;

"I take it you like it then?" He looked at me and smiled.

"How did you guess?" He then looked at the rest of the ice cream. "Do you mind if I eat some more?" My smile was threatening to tear my face in two by now, so I nodded 'no' and watched him as he ate. "Wow… I guess now I know why everyone thinks ice cream is such a big deal…" This time I broke into laughter.

"I promise I will pick up some more food for us to try after I come back from school. Food tastes different for me too now you know." His eyes twinkled and then dimmed as soon as he remembered I had to go soon. It was a little scary that we couldn't stand being away from each other for such a small amount of time. I opened my mouth to reassure him everything would be okay, when I had a revelation. I almost felt like banging my head on the kitchen table. Edward noticed the change in my features and asked;

"Is everything okay love? Did something happen? A vision?"

"You could say so… You know you might not be able to come with me to school but you can see me. Damn, I've been so stupid!" He looked at me bewildered and then revelation hit him too. He started laughing and messing up his hair with his left hand still holding the ice cream with his right.

"Projecting, right?"

"Yes. And since you can hear my thoughts at any given time, it will be almost as if you are there with me." I made a face realizing my previous anxiety was all for nothing.

"I can live with that, I guess." He admitted shrugging his shoulders as soon as he sobered up. "I would still rather be there with you, but if you are truly willing to let me inside your thoughts, I might manage to deal."

"You are always in my thoughts, but I get what you mean." He grinned at me and I sighed; it was time to go. "Okay, just try not to come running if a jerk, like Mike Newton for example, decides to hit on me."

"I can't promise that."

"Yes, you can…" I whispered in his ear as seductively as I could. "Please, for me?" He groaned.

"Fine, I promise. But you don't play fair."

"While you do."

"Don't I?" He asked slightly confused.

"That's the worst part; you don't even know how you affect me, or anyone for that matter. It comes naturally."

"And how do I affect you?" He asked raising my head slightly so that I could look straight into his eyes. I felt dizzy.

"Once I get my brain to work again, I'll tell you." I said and peck kissed him on the lips. "I have to go." He sighed and accompanied me to the garage. Once we got there, he took a moment to fully appreciate my new car.

"Not exactly discreet, but I definitely approve."

"I figured you would." I kissed him once more and entered my car, making sure I had everything I needed for school with me. I opened the garage door and headed to school, opening my mind to Edward.

"_I miss you already."_ He stated.

"_Tell me about it."_ I was definitely starting having deprivation syndrome.

"_I guess you could call it that."_

"_And, apparently, you can hear me talking to myself."_

"_Apparently, yes."_ Oh, this should be fun. _"Yes, it should."_ I approached school with only minutes to spare. I ignored Mike who tried to talk to me in order to invite me to an outing after school while simultaneously persuading Edward to stay at home, said hello to Ben and made a run for trig -my first lesson for the day- were I sat next to Angela who had made it there before me. She looked at me with concern.

"_I think you should read her mind."_

"_Because I can, doesn't mean I should."_

"_I do it all the time."_

"_And, if I remember correctly, you don't always like what you hear, do you?"_

"_No, I don't."_ He admitted ruefully.

"_Yeah, I thought so. Besides, I know Angela; if the matter concerns me, she will tell me about it."_ And I was right because that was when Angela decided to speak.

"Bella, are you all right?" That got me curious, but I resisted listening to her thoughts. She was going to tell me anyways.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Oh, it's just… I mean I thought you knew…" She contemplated if she should tell me about what was on her mind for a few seconds and I was about to find out myself when she sated; "The Cullens are back." Oh right, she must have heard. I put on my sad face again.

"Yeah, I know." She was afraid I might fall into depression again, just like the wolves were yesterday.

"_You know how sor…"_

"_Unnecessary, Edward." _

"Well my mother works as a nurse in the hospital and she told me that Dr. Cullen said Edward didn't come back with them. That he staid with some relatives they have in Alaska."

"_Nice to see Carlisle kept to the plan."_

"_Yes, but I think that when I eventually show up, there will be a huge line of people ready to attack me."_

"_Then we are lucky you are immortal, aren't we?"_

"_I guess we are."_ Angela didn't seem to notice my delay probably due to the fact that she expected me to pause and, of course, because of my new state of mind, the conversation had barely lasted over a second.

"I didn't know that." I said feigning ignorance. "But I can assure you I'm just fine. Amazing actually." She looked at me dubiously.

"Should I believe that?" I smiled warmly at her. She was a good friend and anyways I was telling the truth; I was better than ever.

"Yes, you should. Trust me; I have a feeling things are going to work out for the best from now on."

"If you seem to think so." She caved, looking relieved I wasn't about to fall to pieces right there. After that the day flew by, as I passed the most of the classes talking with Edward while he was practicing. I had managed to keep notes of the lessons at the same time, making sure Angela didn't notice a thing.

When school was over, I drove straight to the groceries' store and picked some food for me and Edward to have fun with. I closed my mind to him insisting what I was going to buy should be a surprise. Not wanting him to taste any meat, I mostly bought fruits and vegetables, plus a generous amount of chocolate in various flavors and, of course, ice cream.

I drove back home and the moment I walked through the door, Edward pulled me in for a kiss. I closed the door behind me with my leg as I kissed him back.

"Finally." He whispered and I could only agree.

"Want to see what I bought?"

"Am I going to regret it?"

"Why should you? I don't know if you have ever tried, but I actually like chocolate."

"I have never really tasted chocolate before." He admitted looking at the bags curiously.

"Then you should." I stated matter-of-factly. "Come on, follow me." Before I managed to make the slightest movement, he had grabbed the bags form my hands and headed to the kitchen. "You realize I can carry those, right?" I asked playfully.

"Because you can, doesn't mean you should." He answered quoting me. The fact that he was still taking care of those little things for me made me even happier, if that was possible. I followed him to the kitchen grinning like a maniac. When I stepped in, he had already taken everything out of the bags and was trying to decide what he should try first.

"How about the strawberries?" I suggested as I grabbed the bag that contained them rinsing half of the red fruits in the sink. He picked one up and eyed it dubiously, almost as if he didn't know what to do with it. As expected one glance at his confused face was all I needed to start melting. I smiled at him, biting my bottom lip slightly as I picked a strawberry myself. "Just watch me." I urged him and slowly bit and chewed as he observed me closely. "Your turn." I stated giggling. He grinned at me and followed my lead.

My heart did somersaults as I watched his eyes widen in surprise once more, something that didn't go unnoticed by him. He swallowed and eyed me carefully, making my knees go weak.

"Why is your heart beating a thousand miles per second love?" He asked his eyes never leaving mine.

"I just think you look perfect when you get surprised, not that you don't look perfect all the time, but still…" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Damn his eyes and what they did to me! He grinned and I blushed, which only succeeded in making his grin wider.

"Is that so?" He whispered, his velvet voice sending shivers down my spine. I shook my head and pushed back the feelings that threatened to take over me for a little longer.

"Why don't you give chocolate a try?" I suggested taking a bite of milk chocolate myself as he watched smiling. Instead of trying himself however he waited patiently until I finished my piece and closed the space between us bringing his lips on mine, earning a moan out of me as he deepened our kiss. He broke the kiss and smiled at me;

"You were right; chocolate does taste amazing." I blushed once again.

"That still isn't the proper way of eating chocolate." I argued pointlessly. "You're supposed to chew it and…" Before I managed to go further he kissed me again and I soon forgot what I was saying. As we made our way towards my, well _our_ bedroom, he stopped for a second and whispered on my lips;

"It might not be the proper way…" he said as he kissed me once more "…but I still find it much more fulfilling. And just for the record; _you_ always look perfect, but I simply adore the way you blush." This time I kissed him and soon all talk of chocolate was forgotten.

Three hours latter we were lying on the bed watching the rain fall on the forest outside the window. Edward had just lit the fireplace with a swift movement of his hands and I had brought my homework for the day on the bed so he could help me finish it. Not that I needed any help, but I really didn't feel like moving from the bed.

"I know it's much easier right now, but I still get bored by trig." I stated as he swiftly jotted down the answers to the equation we were working on.

"It's really not that bad." Edward said as I glared. He raised his hands in defense. "I mean it; after the first four times you finish school, you pretty much work on auto pilot and all the subjects start to look the same."

"Not a very comforting thought." I countered him while he grinned as he finished my homework.

"No it's not but…" His sentence was brought to a stop as his eyes glazed over. Before I managed to panic, it hit me too. 'I'll never get used to having visions.' Was my last thought before I got sucked into images of the future.


	18. Before The Battle

Hi there, it's me again! And I brought a new chapter with me! Allow me to thank all those amazing reviewers of mine! You make this story continue and you know it! Now let me address some of your questions;

Ijzertje; I really liked your idea about how their sent could be masked… You might see this in the next chapter.

Irene90; Vision incoming!

Acullen4evr; and you're not the only one who loves chocolate trust me… You already know my opinion on the subject… Ahhh… chocolate!

Coffeeholic7; Victoria extra crispy, coming up! (Soon enough trust me!)

Jackie; Edward will blush more in the next chapters! You have my word!

Bailey; I just wanted you to know how happy I am you enjoy this story so much; so here you go; a new chapter!

Affarie Ava Mai; Oh, thank you for saying I'm one of your favorite authors… it really means a lot to me! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!

Sol Swan Cullen; I figured she wouldn't want him to taste meat since he had been feeding on blood for so many years… plus I really had an urge to write Edward and chocolate… Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

Twird96; I haven't seen the movie yet… just my luck; I've got the flu… Once I get better though, I will see it.

So here is the new chapter, I hope you'll like it! And don't forget to review! Reviews make me happy! ^_^

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**BEFORE THE BATTLE****.**

"_No it's not but…" His sentence was brought to a stop as his eyes glazed over. Before I managed to panic, it hit me too. 'I'll never get used to having visions.' Was my last thought before I got sucked into images of the future. _

I was in the middle of the forest. I looked around me, trying to find out were exactly I was, but the trees seemed the same everywhere I turned; I was running. I didn't know why, but I felt compelled to run, to keep moving forward. I heard steady and rapid footsteps next to me as a familiar scent reached me. I turned my head right to see with my eyes what the rest of my senses had already told me; Edward was running next to me, glowing in the dark shadows of the forest.

He was looking straight forward with a decided look on his face. Suddenly he looked to the opposite side from where I was and reached with his left hand, only to be met with another one, smaller one, that was equally glowing. I felt a pang of jealousy that only lasted for a second, as I realized the hand he was holding was my own.

I was watching a future in which me and Edward were running through the forest at top speed and, from what I could tell from the light coming trough the trees in the distance, heading to a clearing that started to appear in front of us, lured by some loud feral sounds and howls. It wasn't our meadow; I would have recognized the site immediately. But there was no doubt in me that it was a clearing.

Future me and Edward ran straight to that clearing and I ran forward, impatient to discover the source of those sounds. I entered the clearing and tried to take in my surroundings. It was a larger meadow than ours, but didn't even hold half of its grace. But natural beauty was the least of my concerns as what was happening in the meadow claimed my full attention;

The wolves and the Cullens were fighting side by side against an army of newborns and, by the looks of it, they were winning; none of them was hurt and they were outnumbering the newborns, tearing and burning their way to victory.

Was that the battle with Victoria's army I was seeing? And if it was, where was Victoria? I looked around for her or Edward and me, but found nothing. It didn't make any sense; I had followed them, well us, through the forest. It occurred to me then that I had run ahead just before my future self entered the clearing.

And the vision was only getting weirder every second; I couldn't see Edward, but I could easily catch his scent on the wind. He had to be here. I scanned my surroundings frantically, wondering confused if gods could possess the power of invisibility too. None of the others seemed to notice anything though so I just concentrated more; finally, a couple of seconds later, my efforts were rewarded.

Up on a tree stood two falcons that seemed very familiar; two falcons with golden eyes. What were we doing on that tree? I moved closer and looked upwards; the falcons weren't looking towards the battlefield. I followed their gaze and met with a scene that forced my breath out of my body.

Victoria herself and a second part of her army, a part that, once united with the rest of her forces, would easily overpower the Cullens and the pack, were moving towards the battlefield from the rear, circling my family and friends.

The falcons shared a knowing look no real representative of their present species could share and seemed to be at loss of actions -if it was possible to say something like that for a pair of falcons. But due to the true identities of the said falcons, I could relate; help the family that battles before you and endanger the ones that are waiting to be rescued, or keep the ones imprisoned safe and possibly condemn to death those who stand before you right now?

I never got the answer to my question from our future selves for that was the moment the vision came to an end. I was back in my room once more with present Edward next to me, his eyes fixed on mine, a worried look mimicking my own on his face. I knew he had seen the same thing I had, but I couldn't help but wonder if he had made better sense from the battle scene than me. His mind once again seemed to be attuned to my thoughts as he spoke first;

"Did you see the same thing I did?"

"It depends. Did you see a full front battle between the pack, our family and an army of crazed newborns lead by Victoria who was at the moment encircling our side as we watched helplessly transformed into falcons atop a tree?" I chipped making him smile involuntarily.

"I couldn't have put it better if I tried." He confirmed.

"In that case yes, I did." I said as I recalled the details of my vision. The battlefield, my family -wolves included- winning, my family in danger as Victoria approached with the rest of her army, my hopeless position as all I could do was watch as some bloodthirsty predators moved towards them with every intention to attack and murder… The pain and fear must have shown on my face, because Edward closed the space between us and held me tight in his arms.

It seemed to be all I needed to pull myself together again; his scent took over me and his hands tracing circles on my back soothed my tightened muscles, making me sigh in content.

"So," he started in a soft voice, never taking his arms from me as I buried my face in his chest "we know the battle is approaching. And we know that Victoria is going to cheat." I could practically sense his disgust as he spoke Victoria's name rolling from his chest in waves.

There was something wild and exciting about Edward when he was angry that just pulled me in -as countless other things about him did- but, unfortunately, I had to withhold any urges of that kind until later. "Do you have anything in mind that might give us a time limit? Something I might have missed perhaps?" I raised my head to look at his eyes as I nodded negatively;

"I believe I got the same as you; I saw the clearing and ran forward leaving our future selves behind. It took me almost a minute before I realized we had turned into falcons." I grunted out as he chuckled. "What?" I asked narrowing my eyes.

"Nothing, don't get mad!" He defended himself as he chuckled again. "I just did exactly the same. I was so curious as to why I felt compelled to keep running that I didn't even considered sticking around to see what the future us would do." I smiled in understanding and reached with one hand to hold his face. He smiled and kissed my fingers while I stroke his lips with my fingers before he stated; "All we know is that it was daylight, the battle was thankfully away from the town, the werewolves were fighting on our side and Victoria ambushed us. We don't know when it happened however, which is the most important detail."

"How are you so sure it was away from town? The forest line starts right out of the town's limits." I noted.

"I know that clearing; we sometimes use it for playing baseball, if humans are hiking near the field I showed you the last time. We rarely use it however since it's practically on the borders of the treaty line." I nodded again as a thought popped in my mind.

"Well we know the battle will take place sometime before Friday." Edward looked at me in confusion, but it only lasted for a tenth of a second.

"Of course." He agreed with a smile. "If we had already freed your parents, we wouldn't even consider holding back."

"Exactly." I said and frowned again. "I just can't decide if that's good or bad." I added as he gently smoothened the lines on my forehead with his thumbs.

"I know; it only leaves us with a few days to prepare for the battle." He made a face and before I managed to act he added; "And to come to terms with the dogs; as much as I hate to admit it, since we can't help, our family would never be able to fight the newborns alone." I nodded my head in agreement.

"And first we have to inform our family; I can't go to the wolves with such information; I would like to see how I could explain that one. And you are supposed to be in Alaska…"

"Alice on the other hand…" Edward finished my sentence, arching one eyebrow and smirking appreciatively. "You do realize we better talk to them now right?"

"Yeah, I know. We should probably check on the wolves before we leave." I reminded him.

"And on Victoria while we're at it." He added and I couldn't agree more. He moved towards the mirror pulling me with him and I watched mesmerized as he projected the location of the pack; they were all together sitting on Sue's house eating a mountain of stakes for dinner. I barely had time to notice Harry looked a little redder than I remembered before Edward let the image fade. "I believe we're clear to go."

"You're amazing, you know that, right?" I said as he smirked smugly.

"If the princess of the gods believes me to be amazing, who am I to disagree?"

"Ugh, let me think about that. The _prince_ perhaps?" I asked back playfully and immediately started laughing at his insulted expression while he mouthed the word 'prince' as if it was an insult, just like my father treated our 'royal' title. Oh, yeah; those two would get along just fine. I had a good feeling about it.

"Whatever, let's check on Victoria too. Would you like to do it or should I?"

"There's nothing I like more than watching you do your thing." I said and then ran my eyes up and down his body. "Well almost nothing." I confessed coyly. He gulped and his eyes darkened as he moved his face closer to mine.

"_Almost_ nothing? Would you care to enlighten me as to what that exception might be?" he whispered on my lips. I crashed my lips onto his and proceeded to show him rather than telling exactly him what I meant.

"Got the hint, or should I continue?" He smiled his lopsided grin for me.

"I'd rather you continued; it might take another four or five hints before I grasp the concept. Maybe more." I wholeheartedly agreed, but I knew we should stop. Before I moved my lips however he spoke the words for me; "Victoria, right?" I sighed but nodded affirmative.

"A heck of a mood killer, isn't she?" I asked as he turned back towards the mirror. He projected Victoria's position; she was still in the city from all I could tell. She seemed to be inside some type of a warehouse or a large auto shop. Edward was more precise in his assessment than I was;

"She is at the ferry docks in Seattle. It's already nighttime and there's no way she'll be able to coordinate and lead an army in one day. At least she won't be marching against us until the day after tomorrow."

"I guess that's something."

"We should get moving though; Carlisle will need all the time he can get to get the wolves to cooperate with us. If the new generation is anything than the one I remember from 1936, he will have a great deal of persuasion to do. At least this time we have Jasper."

"Well, from what I have managed to get from the wolves so far, I'm afraid I have to agree; we are lucky to have Jasper this time around." I said as I moved towards the ever open window of my bedroom. "Falcons again?" I offered casually and he agreed. We turned into the now familiar birds and headed towards Edward's house.

It was in less than ten minutes that we reached the house. The wind was blowing our way so I could tell all of my vampire family was inside. We dived towards the front door and changed back to our normal forms, both landing on the balls of our feet, barely making any sound.

Edward knocked the door and light footsteps were heard from inside as Rosalie moved to open the door. She looked at both of us, her face momentarily showing her surprise; no matter how well the whole family had accepted who and, most importantly, _what_ I really am and Edward changes, I could understand it was going to take some getting used to.

And getting used to all that was going to take time which I was willing to give since I now have all the time in the world. Plus, giving my new family time to adjust is the least I could possibly offer in exchange for their acceptance and affection towards me. I would rather be imprisoned for all eternity than losing that kind of love, than losing one of them. No, Victoria has to be stopped; I'm going to make sure of it.

"Hi there." Rosalie said smiling, all surprise gone. "Don't just stand here, come in." She added and motioned for us to move inside the house and towards the living room where the rest of our family had gathered to meet us.

"Edward we thought you would come home today." Alice said pouting slightly. That little pixie knows how to manipulate, that's for sure.

"I got sidetracked." Edward stated naturally, making Emmet snicker as he looked at me meaningfully. I stared back at him defiantly, hoping the intensity of my stare would prevent him noticing my blushing cheeks; it seemed to work, but for a good measure I decided to get to the point of our visit.

"He both got more sidetracked than you might think; we got news from Victoria." All mirth from before, even Emmet's, was gone. All six vampires were looking solemnly towards us, while Edward began explaining.

"We had a vision again. It was a battle between you and Victoria. The werewolves were fighting on our side and in the beginning it appeared that we were winning. But Victoria brought reinforcements and attacked from the rear. We don't know what happened next, but there is no way you could have gotten unscathed from such an attack. Not if you didn't expect it."

All six of them fell silent, Jasper taking a few steps backwards again, as if Edward's words stirred a fearful memory in him. It suddenly occurred to me that I had never heard the story of how Jasper was turned into a vampire. Could that have something to do with his aversion towards newborns?

"You saw us fighting?" Alice asked first breaking the silence. "Why didn't I see anything?"

"You didn't see Bella while we were away either, did you?" Edward asked as I listened, trying to figure out what he were he was going.

"No, I didn't." Alice agreed sullenly.

"And you didn't have any image whatsoever from the werewolves, even though they are, apparently, going to play a major part in our near future either?" Alice nodded negatively, her brow frowning. "Then I might have a theory." Edward concluded, making Alice stare at him half interested and half accusing, as if Edward had just insulted her gift in a way.

"And that would be?"

"You seem to have trouble 'seeing' different species. You can see humans for you once were one and vampires since you are one. But you can't see werewolves for you have never been part of their race and your powers wouldn't have worked on me or Bella anyways. I believe you didn't see the oncoming battle because Bella, the wolves and I will be there." Alice looked at him thoughtfully, but I agreed; he did have a point since Alice didn't seem to have a problem of having visions around us, but not about us.

"Wait a minute." Rosalie interrupted. "You said you were there when the battle took place; how could we be ambushed and loose if you were there fighting with us?" There it was; I was afraid that sooner or later someone was going to ask that. I felt Edward tagging on my mind and I allowed his thoughts to reach me;

"_What do you want to tell them? It's still not safe to let anyone else know about the plan to break your parents out. It will be a huge risk on our part."_

"_I know that… Well, we could tell them that they will have to wait for the particular answer; I trust them with my life, but I'm afraid I have put them in danger enough as it is. They are in peril just by knowing what we are. We can't risk involving them more. I don't want to see them hurt and I frankly don't think I would handle it if they were."_ Edward smiled warmly as I formed my answer.

"We can't tell you why Rosalie, not yet at least." I expected a retort and this time it came.

"So you're just going to let us fight, risking our lives, and you'll sit back doing nothing?" Rosalie shouted at me and then turned to Edward; "We are your family Edward!" Carlisle put his hand on Rosalie's shoulder, motioning her to stop. I took a look around the room. Emmett seemed to be in agreement with Rosalie, Alice and Jasper seemed undecided, while Esme looked right down hurt. I looked at Edward and he, being the perfectly understanding creature that he is, realized this was his queue to help.

"The only reason why we're not telling you is because we don't want to endanger you any more than we already have."

"Endanger us? How?" Rosalie asked, still a bit angry, but distracted nonetheless.

"You do remember that the cursed ones tried to kill Bella in the past?" Edward continued and they all nodded yes. "Although they believe she is dead they are still in the lookout. Bella was not supposed to tell you who she is and not just because she is risking her life." He looked at me and I nodded for him to continue; we couldn't tell them the whole truth, but we could at least give them a better insight at the situation. "Look, I'm not going to lie; there is something more that we have to do, Bella and me, but we will only be able to tell you after we have accomplished it. You will have trust us until then."

They all looked at us a seriously as I uselessly held my breath in anxiety. Carlisle, assuming his role as a the head of the family spoke first;

"You really weren't supposed to tell us?"

"Technically, my mind -and Edward's too now that he is a god- are the only places safe for all information concerning the fact that I'm still alive. But I think of you as my family; I couldn't hide something of such magnitude from you." I explained hoping I could make them understand. I looked at them once more; Alice was holding Jasper and they were both smiling at me -Alice more like grinning- Rosalie and Emmett looked almost apologetic, while Carlisle simply nodded, unable to speak. Esme appeared as if she would cry were it possible.

"I guess we could wait for a while." Rosalie said.

"Thank you." Was all I could master, though it sounded insufficient, even in my own ears.

"Don't mention it Bella." Carlisle said and then looked at me thoughtful. "Did you say the werewolves were fighting on our side?"

"Yes, they were." Edward confirmed.

"That will take some convincing… and the battle is supposed to take part the day after tomorrow?" Jasper asked.

"Possibly. At least sometime before that Friday." Edward explained.

"Quite precise timeline for a vision." Alice noted skeptically. I moved to answer, but she raised her hand and spoke for me; "And I will ask you again when you are ready to give me the answer." I smiled thankfully at her and she grinned back. There was a general silence in the room until Emmett decided to intervene;

"Hey look at the bright side!" he boomed causing everyone to look at him; "We finally get to hunt that sorry excuse for a female down." He added and punched his left palm with his left, flaunting his upper body muscles. Rose smiled coyly at his display as the rest hide their smiles.

"Leave it up to you Emmett to see such a bright side in a battle." Edward stated grinning.

"Burn Victoria burn!" Emmett concluded, putting a smile on my face. Carlisle chuckled too and moved towards the phone. He dialed a number I easily recognized as Jacob's.

"No time to lose then." He simply stated, his expression turning serious, as we all listened to the phone ringing on the other side.

"Hello?" A deep voice was heard on the other side of the line. I immediately recognized it as Billy Black's.

"Billy Black? This is Carlisle Cullen." Nothing but dead silence was heard on the other side of the line. "I believe I will need to talk to the pack. There has been a problem."


	19. Forming The Plan

Hi there everybody! Drum roll please; I've brought you the new chapter! And I'm so glad I did! I really worked hard for this chapter, not because of the content or lack of inspiration, but because I had the flu. THE flu, if you get my point… But I'm not whining; I feel a lot better now and, once I stop coughing my lungs out, my doctor will let me leave the house again! Hurray! Anyways, I would like to thank all of my reviewers who helped me to pass the 300 reviews mark! You guys rock! Now, to answer some of your questions;

**Affarie Ava Mai;** Sorry for the cliffy… I just can't resist leaving one now and then; I'm a terrible person, I know. As for Ouranos and Edward… well you'll have to read and see. I promise Bella's parents will be back very soon. For now, I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter!

**B4bystar;** I'm glad you enjoying the story so far. As for Edward knocking on his own house's door, I have to admit I was surprised somebody noticed, since I actually debated whether I should have him knock or not… I eventually had him knock the door because I felt his gentleman side would want to give his family some notice before they entered, given the fact they haven't yet had enough time to get used to his changes. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter too!

**Twird96;** and he will always be Emmet in this story, I assure you! ^_^

**Coffeeholic7;** I promise Victoria will burn! Just wait for it! ^_^

**Acullen4evr;** I just wanted to say; congratulations on your results and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter!

**Jackie;** Oh they will find out, but not now… give me a couple of more chapters and they will though!

I hope I covered everything! With no more delay, I give you the next chapter of the story! Enjoy and don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**FORMING ****THE PLAN.**

"_Billy Black? This is Carlisle Cullen." Nothing but dead silence was heard on the other side of the line. "I believe I will need to talk to the pack. There has been a problem." _

"Why should we be involved with your problems? As far as I'm concerned, you are the only problem in the area." Billy said defiantly, as I turned to look at Edward; he had the same thoughtful look I was sure I was sporting at the moment. Things hadn't started out very smoothly. We were so going to need Jasper for this one. Thankfully, Carlisle was far too experienced in such conversations to not lose his calm.

"I know you don't want any kind of relation with us and I respect that. But, I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't for something of great magnitude; and the problem I'm talking about is one of the type. The people in this town could truly be in danger, and this threat is one we can not prevent alone."

I could practically hear Billy's brain working through this next wave of silence; on one hand, he didn't want to involve the Cullens in anything that had to do with his family, but on the other hand he knew that Carlisle would never have called if it wasn't really necessary. And of course he couldn't let anyone get hurt, if it could be prevented. As a result his answer didn't come as a surprise to me;

"I'll tell Sam once he's back from his rounds. We will call you later tonight." And with that he hung up the phone.

"That went well." Emmett said sarcastically as Carlisle sighed.

"Basically, it went as good as it could go." Jasper said and I found myself agreeing. "At least he said they would call; it's not much, but it's a start."

"All that is left to do now is get our story straight before they call; we can't just say Bella and I had a vision that we were going to be attacked." Edward said and I looked at him wide eyed; I had almost forgotten about that. The conversation we had back at my house came to my mind.

"Basically, Edward and I were thinking that we could tell the wolves Alice was the one who saw the attack in a vision. It's not that far from the truth, plus it doesn't involve Edward or me in it." Carlisle nodded affirmative, while Alice grinned, clapping her hands in joy.

"I'm in!" She chirped making me smile; I really love that crazy pixie I have for a sister.

"But what are we going to tell them about Victoria? Why would she be coming here if not for Bella?" Esme asked and I pondered her question an idea slowly forming in my head. Well the wolves couldn't find out what I was, but…

"I think I may have an idea, but I'm not sure if it will work." I said making my family stop their respective thoughts and turn their attention back to me.

"What idea love?"

"I was basically thinking that the wolves have already told me what they are and they have seen Laurent attacking me about a week ago, so…"

"Laurent attacked you?" Rose asked, disbelief coloring her voice. "When? Why?" I forgotten I had only told Edward about that.

"Last week Bella caught Laurent's scent while he was trying to escape from the pack." Edward started explaining for me. "She saw that he was getting away, so she decided to intervene; she ran right in frond of the direction he was running to and pretended she was there already. Laurent stopped and tried to attack her, but the wolves took care of him before he got too close. I'll give them that one, they know how to fight."

"So Laurent is dead?" Carlisle inquired.

"Ashes." I confirmed smiling. "Before the wolves came however, I did catch some of his thoughts; once I got past his sickening thoughts about taking me as his mate…"

"He wanted what?" Emmet asked snickering as Edward growled.

"Not funny Emmet."

"You have to admit it is a little…" his face lost all humor as he noticed the murderous glare on Edward's face. "It wasn't funny at all." He agreed solemnly and Edward nodded affirmative while the rest of us held back our laughter.

"Anyways, as I was saying, after all that, he told me that Victoria was the one who had sent him to get me. So I could just tell the truth to the pack, or at least a part of it; Victoria is mad for James's demise and blames me for it so she decides to strike back."  
"It's not a bad plan at all." Jasper agreed, his military training kicking in. "Not bad at all indeed. You'll just have to play human and I'm afraid" he added looking at Edward apologetically "that you Edward will have to pull a disappearing act. There simply is no way you can pass as a vampire anymore." I looked back at Edward and held him tighter in my arms; I really didn't want him to stay away.

"I hate it, but I guess it really is the only way to go." He added and tightened his embrace too.

"Oh, come on bro!" Emmet said rolling his eyes as he took our slightly possessive hold on one another in. "It's not like you're really going away!"

"No," Edward stated acidly, "I will just have to pretend I'm gone to Alaska and be unable to be close to Bella, since her house will be now watched all day long by werewolves, all the time knowing that she will be there. And at the time I'll be laying around uselessly, pretending not to exist, letting the wolves take care of something me and Bella could handle ourselves, were the circumstances different." Emmet raised his eyebrow skeptically, trying to comprehend all that he had heard.

"So, practically, you're saying that you will be able to see the cookie jar waiting right there for you but be unable to get your hands on the cookies since they are guarded by a bunch of hound dogs?"

This time the ice-cold water that fell on his head resembled a small waterfall. Everyone but Emmet and his assailant, Edward, broke into laughter; Emmet had his own way, but definitely knew how to break the tension. I was actually beginning to consider that maybe he was doing it on purpose but his thoughts told me otherwise; I guess that's just Emmet for you.

"So, not cool man." Emmet muttered as he tried to dry his clothes. I raised my hand a warm gust of wind surrounded him, drying off his clothes and the water pool on the floor in no time. "Thanks little sis!" He said grinning at my display of power as I felt an urge to hug my oversized teddy bear of a brother; he really did think of me as his sister.

"Edward is right though." I agreed. "I'm not really partial to him staying away, but it has to be done."

"You know it's deeply frustrating that even though I'm a god I can't do anything to stay with you for the time being. What good is all this power if I can't even use it for something like that?"

"Welcome to my world." I mumbled burying my head in his chest. "And you still have to train with your powers, even though you seem to handle them as good as I do."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait." He said sulkily. "I'm probably going to spend the rest of the week trapped inside this house. We'll just have to make sure the wolves won't come near the house, but I don't believe that will really prove difficult; I doubt they will want to come here as it is."

"So, what are we going to do while we wait for their call?" I asked and looked around.

"Actually, I should finish some paperwork for the hospital, since I won't be having anytime to do it later this week." Carlisle admitted and I nodded smiling.

"Wanna play Wii, Bella?" Emmet asked. "I clearly recall you admitting that you do play video games."

"If you don't mind, I'd rather Bella and I spent the rest of our time before the wolves called, together in my room." At Edward's words, Emmet wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while Jasper smirked knowingly.

"One word Emmet and I'll make sure you'll never dry off." Edward stated softly.

"Hey, why don't you blackmail Jasper too?" Emmet asked pouting.

"Because last time I checked, I could hold my tongue in place thank you very much." Jasper retorted smugly, earning a slap at the back of his head form Emmet. It sounded more like Jasper was hit by a brick, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead a playful glint I had never seen in his eyes before made its appearance; "Okay, brother; you, me, out, now!"

"Bring it on blondie!" Emmet exclaimed with a face splitting grin.

"If anyone asks for us, we'll be upstairs." Edward told Esme, as I waved hello to them all. We ran towards his room, as we had two short days ago, just this time with a whole different kind of tension between us. Once we entered the room he closed the door behind us and in a matter of seconds we ended up cuddling on his couch.

"I really don't want to be away from you for that long." I admitted. "Being in school without you is already tough in itself. And with Charlie gone for two more days, I was hoping for some extra time with each other."

"You and I both." He granted.

"I just don't know how I'm going to manage; I know Emmet might be right about us overreacting, since we will be able to communicate this time around, but being without you will be…" I opened and closed my mouth trying to come up with a single word that could be able to withhold all I was trying to say.

"Unbearable? Tormenting? Agonizing? Insufferable?" He offered laying his head on my lap as I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Something along those lines, yeah." I agreed with a half smile.

"And we're not overreacting. It's just because we have seen what it's like to be away from each other. We haven't really done well without each other have we?"

"Haven't done well? That's the understatement of the century; we were terrible!"

"Okay, we were terrible."

"At least this time I'll know you're right next to me if I really need you."

"And I'll ran to you if the need arises, wolves be damned." I smiled at him and tried to voice my concern about where decisions of that kind could lead us but I noticed his eyes travel over his room's floor and lay on a book right under his bookcase. "So, that's where I left that book…"

"What type of book is it?"

"Well," he explained as he willed the book to fly to his hand on a soft wind at the same time "last September, after your birthday, I was at loss. I thought that leaving you was the only way possible to keep you safe, but it still hurt me too much to go through with it. I remembered reading a letter Beethoven had once written to a woman he loved and since I found some resemblance I decided to read it again."

"Did it help?" I asked surprised that, now that I knew he was here for good, it didn't really bug me so much to talk about the time he was away.

"It almost convinced me to stay, if that counts as helping…" I knew I liked Beethoven's music for a reason.

"Is it really relevant to tour situation?"

"Well the first thing that made me remember it was the fact that it's addressed to Beethoven's unnamed 'Immortal Beloved'. Would you like to hear it?"

"I would love to." And so he began, his velvet voice lulling me to peace besides the situation we had once again found ourselves into.

"_Even in bed my ideas yearn towards you, my Immortal Beloved, here and there joyfully, then again sadly, awaiting from Fate, whether it will listen to us. I can only live, either altogether with you or not at all. Yes, I have determined to wander about for so long far away, until I can fly into your arms and call myself quite at home with you, can send my soul enveloped by yours into the realm of spirits- yes, I regret, it must be. You will get over it all the more as you know my faithfulness to you; never another one can own my heart, never- never! Oh God, why must one go away from what one loves so, and yet my life as it is now is a miserable life. Your love made me the happiest and unhappiest at the same time. At my actual age I should need some continuity, sameness of life- can that exist under our circumstances? Angel, I just hear that the post goes every day- and must close therefore so that you get the letter at once. Be calm- love me- today- yesterday._

_What longing in tears from you- You- my Life- my All- farewell. Oh, go on loving me- never doubt the faith-fullest heart _

_Of your beloved_

_L_

_Ever thine._

_Ever mine._

_Ever ours."_

"That was…" I was once again unable to form a coherent sentence; dang it! I should be getting the hang of it by now, but no! He still managed to come up with ways to leave my speechless.

"Yes, that was quite my reaction when I read it too." He admitted. I stared at his eyes, still unable to speak. "You okay love?" He voiced with concern as he reached for my face. I leaned into his touch and merely mouthed;

"You know you still dazzle me, right?" To my eternal delight, I show him blushing once more. "And blushing doesn't help."

"Am I blushing again?" He asked annoyed, making me smile at his expense.

"And you make it work for you, I assure you… I love you by the way." I simply stated and leaned in for a kiss. He let the book fall back on the floor and after whispering his love back to me we stopped talking altogether. Our time together however was cut short by the phone. I sighed and Edward rose from the couch first extending his hand for me like the gentleman he is. I took it and we made a run for the living room a second before Alice was ready to shout for us.

Carlisle moved over the phone and motioned us all to get closer. He raised his hand to quiet us down -well, to quiet Emmet down, since he was still busy asking a rematch from Jasper for the race he had just lost on Wii- and answered the phone; Sam was at the other side of the line.

"Why did you call?" He didn't appear to be really talkative.

"I know you don't want to hear from us and much let be around us, but I'm afraid a meeting will be in order."

"And why would we want to meet with you?"

"Because the people of this city are in trouble. This is really difficult to talk over the phone, but the short story is that a vampire army is heading towards Forks." A long silence was all that came from Sam's side for a moment. Then I heard some turmoil from the background and I guessed that was the rest of the pack. I could swear there was a female voice among them. How weird.

"What did you do this time bloodsuckers?" Oh-oh. This conversation had just taken a turn for the worse. Time for a drastic step. I motioned Carlisle to pass the phone to me; he turned to Edward who nodded affirmative and he handled me the control of the conversation. I knew I had to lie again, but this time I couldn't bring myself to feel guilty; I was protecting them. And it seems that once I'm in family protecting mode, nothing can get in my way. I straightened me back and made my voice quiver;

"Sam?" I asked, sounding like I was crying. The vampires around me looked at me bewildered, not having witnessed my new acting skills before. Edward looked right down proud.

"Bella?" Sam's disbelieving voice came through the line. Then silence. Then some more turmoil in the background with Jacob's voice dominant as he was practically shouting for them to come get me. "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

"No, Sam, they didn't do anything to me! They are helping me! It's just that… oh it's…" I trailed, my voice trembling while I was taking deep breaths. Emmet was looking befuddled at me while his jaw hit the floor, while Rose gave me thumbs up.

"Calm down Bella. It'll be alright, we are here. We will help you." A smile appeared on my face and not just because the talk was back in track.

"Do you remember Laurent?" I asked.

"The bloodsucker we killed five days ago? What about him?"

"He… oh, he wasn't alone! A female, Victoria, was the one who ordered him to come to me. And now she has an army! And she is coming here! And…" I was going faster and faster with my explanations and he was forced to stop me;

"Easy Bells; give me the Cullen I was talking with so we can work this out."

"Okay Sam." I smiled and winked at Emmet as I handled the phone back to Carlisle.

"So where do you want us to meet?" Alice jumped up and down excitedly, her mood rubbing off on Jasper, who was grinning like an idiot as a result.

"I was thinking the clearing next to the treaty line. If you find the location agreeable, would you like to meet us in an hour? We will bring Bella with us; she will be able to explain this situation better than me." I nodded affirmative.

"The location is fine; we will see you there; just make sure Bella will be okay." And with that he hung up. Carlisle returned the phone to its base and turned to me;

"That was some display of acting abilities, if I may say so."

"You may. And thank you by the way; it was time someone recognized my acting skills." Emmet who had managed to recover from his shock determined he should talk;

"Wow; another reason for your enemies to be afraid of you." And then he ran and scooped me into a bone-crushing hug; "My little sister is so cool!" My crystal laughter echoed in the room and Emmet allowed me to use my own feet again.

"Do all gods' have such a calming laughter, or is it just you?" I looked at Esme who had just spoken confused;

"My laughter is calming?" I checked at their feelings and I realized they were correct. "Interesting."

"And so the meeting is set." Jasper said, averting the conversation from me, back to the meeting with the wolves.

"We have an hour to get ready." Carlisle said.

"Well, if you need me during the meeting." Edward offered winking at me "I'll most probably be in the trees on the opposite side from where the wind is blowing. And I'll keep it blowing that way."

"A falcon?"

"It's night; I'll go for an owl. Plus, owls already have glistening eyes of their own."

"Did we miss something right there?" Rose asked.

"You'll see." Edward assured her.

"So when are we going to leave?" Emmet asked eagerly.

"Since I'm supposed to be human, we better take a car up to a point and then we will continue on foot. I guess it would be best if we made it there first; it would show we are willing to speak and it will give us some time to make sure they won't notice Edward." I answered thoughtfully.

"It's a plan then." Carlisle agreed. I changed my eyes back to brown and dimmed my glow.

"Ugh! My eyes are killing me!" I exclaimed rubbing them.

"They get dry when she changes their color." Edward explained as we moved towards the door. He gave me a good bye kiss and I felt his mind tugging my own. I granted him entrance and he morphed into a chestnut colored owl that flew straight up and, after gaining some altitude, started going into circles.

"_I'll follow you from above_." I transferred his words to his family and we were off. Since I had to fake being human, it took us forty five minutes to get there; Edward positioned himself on a tree behind us, right across the location the wolves should be coming from.

Our vampire family couldn't catch his scent, but since I could, we decided not to take chances; Edward called forth the element of air and made the wind blow towards him and then straight upwards; that caused his scent to be sent straight above him, making sure that, if the wolves saw him, wouldn't realize he wasn't an owl, even if they approached him from behind.

About five minutes later, and right on time, the scent of werewolves reached us. Soon the pack came to sight; something wasn't right… I could count two more wolves among them. I checked their thoughts to find out who they were; Leah and Seth Clearwater. Harry's kids?

"_A female wolf?"_ Edward sent through our connection, as the wolves went behind some trees to change back to their human forms.

"_Are you implying something specific Edward?"_

"_Not, implying really; it's just that I don't recall ever seeing a female in their ranks. It's an interesting turn of events."_

"_Remind me to ask my parents about that. If we bust them out that is."_

"_**After**__ we bust them out, I will remind you, don't fret love."_

"_Thank you for that."_

"_For what?"_

"_For making me feel serene and carefree even right before a meeting with a pack of wolves which is held in order to devise a plan to stop a crazed vindictive vampire and her newborn army; one of the many reasons I keep you around."_

"_Care to share the rest of the reasons?"_ He suggested huskily.

"_I could __**show**__ you, but we have to control ourselves and, mostly, our emotions right now; Jasper is giving the creeps; he keeps staring at me."_ Edward chuckled through our connection and I battled with my urge to do the same; Jasper was looking at me like I had gone crazy, unable to understand where the latest wave of lust he got from me came from. I motioned him at Edward's position with my eyes, unable to provide him with a more inclusive explanation for the time being, but he got the hint.

A couple of seconds later, the wolves came towards the clearing, the boys wearing nothing but jeans, and Leah wearing some shorts and a t-shirt. The rest of my vampire family had the same reaction as Edward once they took Leah in; she had cut her hair, but she was a girl all right, there was no mistake about that. However, they decided -Emmet included- not to make any comments about it for the time being. Sam spoke first, being the alpha of the pack;

"We came as you asked." Then he turned to me. "Are you all right Bella?" I nodded numbly in return and uttered a weak;

"For now."

"Care to enlighten us?" Sam added acidly towards Carlisle, having made sure that I was physically sound. Carlisle started explaining everything; he began with how we had met James, Laurent and Victoria, James's death and the reason Victoria was after me. Then, leaving out me and Edward as agreed, he told them about Alice having a vision of an attack in a couple of days. There he was interrupted by Jacob.

"A vision?" He asked Alice. "You mean you can see the future?"

"Some of us have gifts." Carlisle explained. "Alice here can predict the future, Jasper can feel and control the emotional atmosphere around him and Edward can read minds." The wolves looked at each other bewildered, not expecting that kind of a revelation. Finally, after a minute or two, Sam motioned Carlisle to carry on. So he explained that Alice had seen them fighting Victoria's army and her plan to win. The pack asked for a second to turn back to their wolf forms so that they could make a decision. Not being able to wait; I listened to their thoughts.

"_We're helping them, right?"_ A younger male voice said. I deducted that was Seth.

"_Of course we are; we can't leave the people of this city get hurt." _Sam said, immediately taking a massive weight from my shoulders.

"_And how do we know they are telling the truth?"_ Quil asked.

"_Well, Bells is here and we all saw that Laurent guy. Plus, we already suspected the killings in Seattle were caused by bloodsuckers."_ Embry pointed out.

"_And though I'm not going to admit it out loud, it's not their fault this time; they kept their part of the deal and kept away the other bloodsuckers that came to the area, even if that meant killing one of their own kind. They couldn't predict one of them was that demented, even with the short one's gift."_ Sam offered and they all agreed ruefully. I could sense Leah's emotions to be very strained, almost hostile towards Sam, but I ventured it was not the time to find out why.

"_Just one question before we turn back and tell them what we decided; where is that Edward guy? I would like a couple of words with him for all he put Bells through."_ And that was Jacob.

"_A couple of words?"_ Paul teased.

"_Okay, so I want to hit the guy; sue me."_

"_Besides wanting to hit the guy, which I wouldn't object, Jacob has a point and we will ask them that too; let's change back."_ Sam ordered.

"_As I said in the past, when I make my appearance the line of people ready to attack me will be huge."_ Edward pointed out.

"_Well they will have to get through me first."_

"_Thank you love." _

The pack moved back to the clearing and Sam announced their decision;

"We will help you dealing with this army, but we have a question first; where is the last member of your coven, Edward?" I pretended to wince at the sound of Edward's name and Leah of all people threw me an apologetic glance. I wonder why.

"He is in Alaska at the moment," Carlisle offered sticking to the story "and due to the circumstances" he added looking at me, as I stared at the ground "we thought it best not to involve him." The pack nodded in agreement, all of them satisfied and somehow relieved with the Cullens' decision not to include Edward, even though I could tell some of the boys wouldn't mind getting their paws on him.

The rest of the meeting went by in a different pace, as they rearranged the treaty line in order that both of them could move around more freely, leaving only the reservation and the Cullen estate out of reach respectively.

"Is this all then?" Sam asked Carlisle.

"Just one more thing; I know that you don't need tips as to how to hunt, but you have never dealt with newborns before; they are stronger than the average vampire, since they are still running on their own blood. But my son, Jasper, has. We would like to show you some ways you could use to attack the newborns without getting injured in the process. We will have to train ourselves for the fight too anyways." Sam looked at Carlisle dubiously.

"Just to get things straight, are you proposing to teach us ways to hunt you down and kill you more efficiently?"

"The circumstances are such, we can not afford anything less than being fully prepared. And since we asked for your help, we can't let you get killed in the process." Sam weighted Carlisle and Jasper up and down for a second and then turned to the rest of my extended family. He sifted his eyes back to Carlisle and with a smirk on his face he merely stated;

"When do we start?"


	20. The Battle

Hey there everyone. First of all, forgive me for the late update; things have just been crazy lately. So, in an attempt to make things up to you, this chapter is about double in size than my regular updates. Think of it as a Christmas special if you'd like… Now allow me to thank all my reviewers and answer some of your questions from your reviews;

**17forever17; **you'll soon find out about Bella's parents! Actually all you have to do is read this chapter!

**xObsessiveTwilighter;** first of all; thank you! I can't begin to describe how happy I am you like my story that much. Secondly, Edward's eyes turn to his vampire gold when he changes them as to appear like he used to, to the people who met him as a vampire; however I think I will let him keep his god gold… I really wanted to make Rosalie kind too; I understand she had difficult times when she was tuned, but she shouldn't take it out on Bella. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too!

**Irene90;** One battle with Victoria coming up!

**Coffeeholic7;** I believe you ordered Dante's Inferno? Well I hope you'll find this satisfactory! ;-)

**Twird96;** thankfully no; I'm planning to get him out from Bella's basement as soon as possible. ^_^ I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter!

**Affarie Ava Mai;** All your answers regarding the fight will be revealed in this chapter. (Of course I'm not planning to just let them sit down and simply watch the battle unfold, don't worry!)

**Acullen4evr;** you're probably right about the eye color change… To be honest it didn't occur to me at the time. Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy reading the next chapter!

As you probably noticed I finally finished writing the battle scene… This is actually my first battle scene, so I hope I did rather well, though I'm not particularly sure; I tried to focus on Bella's point of view of the battle, not the battle itself, and I hope it worked… Without further ado, I give you the next chapter of my story. And don't forget; reviews make me happy!

**Happy holidays!**

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**THE ****BATTLE**

_Sam weighted Carlisle and Jasper up and down for a second and then turned to the rest of my extended family. He sifted his eyes back to Carlisle and with a smirk on his face he simply stated;_

"_When do we start?" _

I had watched as my vampire family taught the wolves how to efficiently attack newborns as they had decided to start their training immediately. Edward and I mostly spent our time listening to the pack's thoughts as Jasper explained that they shouldn't attack the newborns directly, since that was the only attack they expected and were able efficiently defend themselves from, and then proceeded to show them the exact moves they should use instead.

They were actually impressed and I for one could not blame them; the vampires moved with such grace I could swear they were dancing rather than preparing for a battle. Since I pretended to be human and Edward was supposed to be an owl, we opted on commenting the scene that was unfolding before us;

"_Wow, Jasper can move!"_ I commented as Jasper preformed a double somersault avoiding Sam's direct attack and kicking him on the head at the same time.

"_I can move too you know!" _Edward pointed out sullenly. I giggled inwardly, trying not to appear jovial to the audience of my previous 'I'm devastated because the love of my life left me thus I just want to cry my eyes out, plus I have a homicidal vampire who wants to hunt me down rendering me helpless and scared to death' performance.

"_Love, I'm aware you can move. In more ways than one. And I thank my luck everyday for it."_ I could sense his ego inflating through our connection and I couldn't help to tease him about it. _"Tell me something Edward; how old are you exactly?"_

"_Five."_

"_I thought so myself."_

"_But you must admit; I look dashing for a five year old."_

"_Dashing, love?"_

"_Yeah, you got the point."_ He mumbled as I looked at him, eyes sparkling with mirth and the slightest trace of a smile breaking through my poignant façade. For a weird reason I had the feeling that, were it not for the feathers, I would witness first hand how a night bird looks when it blushes. I was actually about to make a comment on that fact when Jasper called Alice for the next round of attacks.

I froze into my tracks; how could my petite pixie sister face an army of bloodthirsty newborn vampires? My eyes immediately travelled to Esme; my second mother looked so delicate in her summer pale green dress that I feared a single hit would break her. How would she face such an army and escape unscathed?

"_Don't distress yourself love."_ Edward offered calmly failing to subdue my fears.

"_But they look so… breakable."_ Edward's laugh echoed in his thoughts and mine as a result. I was scandalized. _"How can you laugh at such a prospect?"_

"_Look being the key word, I would like to remind you, my ever overanxious love, that Alice and Esme are vampires; they merely look breakable. They will do just fine unless you decide to attack them that is."_

"_But…"_ I tried to voice my concern.

"_Just look at Alice."_ Like I wasn't looking at her in the first place! Jasper took his place across her and prepared for his attack. Alice simply smiled and… closed her eyes?

"_What is she doing? Edward do something!"_I was ready to go and protect her myself once I saw Jasper charging at her. The only thing that held me back was Edward's voice; "_Wait for it love_." Besides what my instincts told me, his voice held me back. I watched Jasper launch at Alice, who still had her eyes closed, but right before he got her she made the slightest move to the right and avoided his attack. I doubt I would have noticed it immediately, were I still human, but now I caught it.

As Alice evaded Jasper's second attack, I got what she was doing; she was 'seeing' Jasper's future attack and avoided it before he could lay a hand on her. The wolves were more amazed than I was, but they too got to what she was doing soon enough.

"_I get what you mean love."_

"_And I assure you that Esme is quite capable to handle herself too. I used to get as anxious as you every time I saw them fighting in the past, but I can usually control my urge to rush out there and protect them now; you will get used to it eventually. Just give it a couple of decades or so."_

"_I'll hold you up to it."_

"_You do that."_

"_I will."_ I promised and proceeded to watch the rest of the practice fight for five hours or so. I watched the moon rise and slowly make its way through the night sky; it was falling to the west when Sam called the practice short. The pack headed to the edge of the forest to change back as I stood up and approached the center of the field where my extended family was waiting.

"_Don't forget to appear tired when the wolves come back_." Edward reminded me.

"_Thanks Edward, I almost forgot."_ I watched as the wolves reemerged from the forest line and back to the clearing. When they all appeared I made a show of yawning and blinking rapidly as if to chase the sleepiness away. I was sure they had all seen me; Jacob even looked at me apologetically. Sam approached Carlisle and spoke to arrange the next meeting.

"I believe it would better be tomorrow; Victoria will probably be here by this Friday the latest. We should be as ready as possible."

"I agree." Sam said and the pack nodded affirmative to his words. "There is only one thing left to talk about." he turned to me; "Bella has to be protected at all times." To that the pack nodded more fervently and I gaped.

"_No, no, no, no, NO!"_ Edward and I shouted in each other's mind at the same time, unable to do anything else.

"Yes, about that…" Carlisle begun, only to be interrupted by Jacob.

"Don't worry we have her house covered." Sam raised his hand to prevent Jacob from continuing;

"Jacob is right; we usually have her house covered. But now that we know there is a whole vampire army coming our way, I won't risk single patrols; we will patrol the area in groups of four or five. That means that we won't be able to be at Bella's house that often."

Jacob tried to protest, along with some of the members of the pack. I tried to look scared, but on the inside I was doing a little victory dance. Maybe there was a possibility to spend some time alone with Edward after all. Edward seemed to be thinking along the same lines from what I could hear.

"We would be more than willing to cover that gap for you, Sam; we consider Bella a part of the family, even if our recent actions point to the opposite direction. Just tell us when you won't be able to be around the house and we will be there for her." Carlisle offered. That would be great; my vampire family knew about me and Edward, so they could pretend being there, while in reality, I would be alone with Edward. There really wasn't much more I could ask for at that point.

"We are able to patrol around her house in the morning while she is in school to make sure she won't be ambushed when she returns and during the afternoon. But after the sunset, I would rather the pack was patrolling near the reservation; if that female bloodsucker decides to move her army this way she will need blood to sustain her soldiers. And the reservation, being closer to the woods than the town, is an easy target especially during nighttime." Jacob tried to protest once more after listening to Sam's proposition, but this time I intervened;

"No, Jacob, listen to Sam. I'll be safe with all the Cullens around. Besides you guys need to sleep at night in order to watch over the area properly and fight with your full strength when Victoria does come. And don't forget your family and friends; your dad Jake. Billy might need you." He looked at me dubiously as the rest of the pack nodded appreciatively; I had already noticed that they were almost synchronized in their reactions, but it was getting more obvious by the second. They almost acted like a pack even in their human forms.

Jacob considered my proposition for a little longer as I mentally crossed my fingers. I subtly sent him feelings of reassurance that I was going to be safe even if he wasn't around. I saw the answer in his mind before he even managed to say it out loud;

"Okay Bells, I can see your point. But remember if you need anything, and I mean anything at all, give us a call and we will be there before you know it." The pack nodded in synchronization once more and I promised to my self to thank them as much as I could when the truth was out.

"Thank you Jacob." I smiled at him and mock yawned again; it was still night and I wanted to spend the rest of it with Edward.

"Of course you must be tired." Sam offered. "We should be on our way to the reservation too anyways. I trust you will take care of her for the rest of the night?" He asked turning to Carlisle.

"She won't be alone for one second, I can guarantee that." Carlisle said and I noticed the double meaning in his words; who knew my second dad could be so coy if he wanted to?

"_You don't even know the half of it, love."_

"_You'll have to tell me when all these problems are behind us."_

"_I will."_ Edward promised and I turned my attention back to the unfolding conversation in the field. They had appointed the next training session to be held tomorrow around six. I was to attend too as to not be left alone. After a couple more arrangements, we parted our ways; me and my vampire family moved towards the Cullens' cars and the wolves phased and turned to the reservation. Edward waited to make sure they were far enough to take flight and follow us to my house.

"So," I spoke up looking around with my now back to gold eyes to Carlisle who was driving and Esme, Jasper and Alice who were riding in the same car with me "who is going to pretend staying with me at nights?"

"Pretend?" Carlisle asked jokingly "What makes you think one of us will pretend to be with you at nights? I made a promise young lady. Are you implying I should break it?" Everyone in the car -and out of the car since Edward was flying right above us- chuckled and, though I was amused myself, I decided to retaliate.

"Well I won't mind you guys spending the night but I must warn you; things tend to get a little, shall I say _intense_, at night when Edward and I are alone. Remember the burned sheet in Edward's room? Well that's just the tip of the iceberg really. But if you don't mind that, you could always…"

"No, we got it!" Carlisle almost shouted as the rest of them were looking at me wide eyed. Edward almost lost his balance and ended up on a tree from shaking with laughter.

"_Damn it woman! You can be a true vixen some times."_

"_And that's one of the many reasons why you love me."_

"_True."_ Edward mentally chuckled.

"I really didn't need that mental picture in my head though." Carlisle added shaking his head.

"I'll agree with that." Jasper said almost frightened, while Alice and, surprisingly, Esme looked at me with a sly grin on their faces.

"Don't mess with a goddess Carlisle; you will not like the result, I assure you." I offered smirking.

"Anyways," Alice spoke, "we can all enter your house so our scent will be all over it and then we will leave. Edward can fly back to our house at sunrise and all will be arranged."

"And when the wolves come I will say you caught their scent and just left." I added smiling. "I think it will work."

We reached my house and Edward turned back to his human form immediately taking me into his arms and, without wasting any more time, kissing me. After I gave them a short tour to make certain their scent was everywhere my vampire family was discrete enough to return to their house to spend the night, allowing me and Edward some privacy.

"I believe that went quite well, don't you think?" I pondered his answer for a fraction of a second.

"It did go well, but I still feel guilty for letting our family and the pack fight Victoria; this is entirely my fault after all." Edward took my face into his palms and lifted my face so he could look at me straight in the eyes.

"This is all Victoria's fault, not yours. Just as it wasn't your fault that James decided to attack you last spring. And our family will be fine." I sighed in disbelief, wanting more than anything to let his words reassure me. "I mean it Bella; don't you trust me?"

"What kind of silly question is that love? Of course I trust you. I trust you with my life; you should know that much by now. It's Victoria I don't trust."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We already know she is ready to cheat. What if we missed something in the vision?" Edward smiled my favorite smile for me.

"If that happens we will be there, love; we will take them down one by one before the wolves see us if we must." I looked at his eyes and finally found the comfort I needed. He was right of course; if the situation called for it, we would device some way to stop the newborns before they reached our family. There really was no way for a full front attack, but if we used some stealth moves, we could go unnoticed, right? As I stared in his eyes some of the conversation in the car during our drive back popped into my head and I bit my lower lip looking at him lustfully.

"You know I'm really glad we still get to spend our nights together." Edward gulped audibly and his golden eyes darkened as he gazed into mine.

"So am I, my love." He whispered huskily, placing his hands on my back.

"And, I was thinking…" I trailed off, a small part of my mind realizing I could never and would never act like that for another man.

"What were you thinking?" he asked as he tightened his embrace, bring me closer to him.

"More like wondering really… Tell me Edward, would you like to see exactly how much of a vixen I could be?" I never really got my response on that one. Not verbally at least, as Edward made a show of just how fast he could reach the bedroom while carrying me in his arms.

As agreed, Edward left at sunrise. Just in time too, as five minutes later I caught the scent of the werewolves coming from La Push. I made my way to my bed -we had made it to the bedroom all right, but didn't really manage to stay on the bed for too long, having miraculously ended up in front of the fireplace- and lay under the covers unable to sleep until it was time to leave for school. And the days went by.

Everyday I would go to school, return to my house, watch the pack and my family train and then -finally- spend my nights with Edward. Even if he was with me through our mind connection all the time, it didn't feel right to be physically away from him for that long. I was missing him terribly and he was only a few miles away from me. He didn't seem to cope any better than I did; from what I understood he had almost burned down his house four times by now and Emmet usually sported a wet look every time I saw him.

On Tuesday Charlie came back from his annual fishing trip. He had heard about the Cullens' return and Edward's supposed absence and it took all my acting skills to reassure him I was perfectly fine. Edward's 'absence' was also the main topic in school, especially between Laurent and Jessica who made sure they voiced their vile filled comments while I was around, openly conversing about the possibility Edward found someone else in Alaska.

The boys were thrilled he hadn't returned because, in their eyes, that raised their chances with me. I wondered how they would react when Edward went back to school. I mentally cringed at the thought of a pack of hormonally crazed teenage girls all over him. Edward told me not to think about it, but I could feel he wasn't as confident as he sounded. In the mean time a plan was formed for the battle as Tuesday gave its way to Wednesday and Wednesday gave its way to Thursday.

Friday was finally here and Victoria had yet to make a move, though Edward and I had watched her move her troops from Seattle towards Forks; she was now near the town and, unfortunately, not that far in the woods so we could attack her before she would make it to town. Surprisingly, there were no attacks reported in the area. Edward's best guess was that she wanted the newborns to be as crazed as possible when they were fighting; it made sense in a weird, twisted way.

I was returning from school when the scent hit me; not close enough to be caught by the wolves, but it was definitely there. The scent of an unknown vampire filled the air, emanating somewhere from the west side of the forest near my house.

"_Edward I believe they are here."_ I called him through our link.

"_What makes you say that, love?"_ He asked, concern coloring his voice.

"_I caught the scent of a vampire; he or she is about a mile from my house."_

"_Are the wolves there?"_

"_Yes they are…"_ I breathed in deeply trying to indentify the exact position of the wolves. Leah, Seth, Jacob and Embry were on the left side of the house. I parked my car as I gave Edward that information, thinking on the same time how I could inform the wolves about the vampire when the wind shifted, blowing stronger from the side were the unknown vampire was hidden. _"Quick thinking my love."_ I praised him as the wolves finally caught the scent. I went into the house as I listened to their thoughts. The unknown vampire was still out of my range; I only seemed to pick up Edward's thoughts from any distance. All the rest had to be inside a five mile radius so I could read them.

Leah, Seth and Embry were to chase the vampire and Jacob was about to come to my house. We had foreseen that possibility and Edward had prepared a ready answer for me. Seconds later Jacob knocked on my front door.

"Hi, Jake what's going on?" I asked as he looked at my frantically, wearing just a pair of jeans.

"A new bloodsucker was here. Some of the guys are chasing him and he seems to be leading us to the field the Cullens' told us the fight would take place. It's an ambush, or so they think." So that's how the fight would turn out to be held in that field. Victoria must have found that place suitable for her little scum.

"So the fight is beginning then?" I asked softly.

"I'm afraid so." He responded solemnly. "I have to use your phone to call the Cullens and then make sure you'll be out of harms way." I nodded and let him walk inside, pointing him to the phone. Edward had of course already informed my family about the fight, but the pretences had to be kept. So Jacob made the call; Carlisle answered and reassured him they would be on their way. Then he informed Jacob Esme would soon be at my house to pick me up and hung up the phone. Jacob looked at me confused. I started giving him the explanation Edward had come up with.

"What did Dr. Fang mean when he said his wife was coming to get you?" he asked fearing the worst.

"The Cullens came up with a plan last night. We would tell you today in training but the fight caught up with us; Esme is going to come pick me up and drive me to safety, somewhere in town amongst people, where Victoria must have instructed her soldiers not to go to. Then she is going to come aid you in the battle. I'll be out of harms way and you will be able to focus on the fight without worrying about me." That was half the truth of course; Esme would pick me up and leave me near their house where Edward would be waiting. The plan was that we would morph to falcons and fly to the battlefield to ensure everything would run smoothly.

"That's actually a good plan." Jacob agreed looking relieved I would be kept safe. I could see he was afraid I would do something stupid during the battle to make certain they would all make it alive.

"Yeah, I know. Listen Jacob; make sure you come back alive, okay?" I asked, concern filling me to my core. He grinned at me and gave me thumbs up.

"Don't worry Bells; I'll come back to you unscathed, I promise." He moved closer to me and pulled me to a tight embrace. I heard Edward growl in rage in my mind. Jacob looked straight at my eyes but before he managed to make a move -thankfully too because pushing him back and through a wall would totally ruin my cover- a car's tires' screeched on the road near my house.

Jacob heard them too and sighed disappointed. I held back my sigh of relief in fear he would misinterpret it; Jake is my best friend and I really love him. I do. Just not _that_ way. How could I ever give my heart to another man when it wasn't even mine anymore? It belonged to Edward and with him it would blissfully forever remain. Now if I could only make Jake see that without hurting him…

"_The mutt is lucky Esme got there in time. I was about to take matters in my own hands."_

"_Later Edward; I love you by the way."_

"_As I love you."_

Esme parked on the front of the house and instantly she knocked on my door. I opened the door and hugged her tight; she had and impeccable timing when it came to preventing people from kissing, even if it bothered me to no extent when the people in question were Edward and I. I waved goodbye at Jake and entered Esme's car as he phased and headed towards the forest.

"You just saved Jacob from Edward." I informed my second mother. She looked at me perplexed.

"And how exactly did I do that?"

"He was about to kiss me and Edward was about to charge at him." I explained. She looked at my half amused and half concerned, he extended maternal feelings obviously covering my wolf friend too.

"I hope nothing happened."

"Nothing did and nothing will happen. I just need to tell Jacob that without hurting him in the process." I mumbled as I focused my whole mind to the coming fight. Esme drove me to the opposite edge of the forest where Edward waited already transformed; I stepped out of the car and she did a swift u turn as I scanned the forest for any supernatural life form; finding only Edward I phased and flew next to him on a weeping willow branch.

"_Ready love?"_

"_As long as you're with me." _

"_Then we're all set." _And with that we took off, flying towards the sounds of the vampires and werewolves that were all moving towards the field we had pointed out earlier this week. Victoria's forces were moving closer with the second even though the second part of her army was still away.

"_I have to give it to her."_ I admitted _"If we didn't have the vision before, I might have missed the fact all of the newborns aren't here."_

"_I get what you mean; if we didn't know where they were heading spotting their exact location without flying too close would be hard; their scent is all over the place_." We moved closer to the battle site and flew right on the spot we had seen ourselves in the vision. We watched as everything unfolded according to the plan we had come up with on Tuesday; all of my vampire family was on the field since Victoria knew them all already.

But only four of the pack members were beside them; the rest were circling the second part of the army from the behind, turning Victoria's plan against her. Edward and I added to the success of the plan making the wind blow from the side of the battle field towards the hidden werewolves so the part of the newborn army Victoria was leading couldn't get their scent.

The first of Victoria's newborns entered the field. He was the blonde man I had seen in my first vision of Victoria, Riley. He flinched slightly once he saw my family and the wolves ready for them, not giving them the element of surprise they were counting on. Victoria's influence however seemed to run deep for his hesitation lasted for less than a heartbeat, even one as accelerated as a werewolf's.

He charged forward leading the twelve newborns who were following him. The battle began in full force immediately since the newborns weren't able to device complicated strategies. Our side was led by Jasper who, allowing his military knowledge reemerge, had already pinned down and dismembered his first newborn. The sounds were sickening as fangs and hands ripped the newborns' bodies taking them down piece by piece.

Edward and I turned our attention on the side we knew Victoria would come from. Not one to disappoint, Victoria made her appearance slowly from the behind, a vicious grin on her face. I felt blazing rage stir my very core;

"Those men and women she turned are dying right in front of her, dying _for_ her and she doesn't even give a damn?"

"She is going to get what she deserves soon." Edward stated in a soft voice that concealed his own hatred and fury, the same one I felt bubbling inside me; oh, yes; Victoria is going to turn to ashes. Soon.

Victoria moved closer to the battlefield and commanded her newborns to charge. My family and friends had already finished off the majority of the newborns of the first attack, including Riley. As I had noticed only two were still up and fighting and one of them was presently attacked by Emmet and Jasper so I doubt he stood a chance. The second wave of newborns charged with Victoria leading them. I observed with glee as her face expression changed from triumphant to confused and then to plain scared as her 'surprise' attack unfolded and failed before her eyes.

Carlisle, who was according to plan looking out for her attack, informed the others in time and Jacob howled to inform the wolves hiding in the forest. As a result, instead of being caught unprepared, they turned towards Victoria, Rosalie finishing off the last vampire from the early attack in the process. They attacked the unsuspecting newborns before they had managed to fully enter the field. The newborns, due to their nature, froze in surprise for barely a second; that was all the advantage my family needed; they caught them off guard and broke through their lines. At the same moment Leah, Seth, Embry and Quil emerged from the same spot Victoria's army had.

Now, trapped between enemy blows, the newborn army was at loss, I could see that. Their numbers were diminishing. Jasper and Alice were gathering the separate limbs and piling them up in the middle of the field were a fire was already lit. I turned my attention from the fight to the fire for a second and then back waiting to see who would get his hands, or fangs, on Victoria. But she was gone. I urged Edward who was still looking at the fire to turn to the fight.

"_Where did she go? She was here when they charged!"_

"_How? She can't be dead yet; the fight would be over if her army saw their leader go down. So how did she escape?"_ Instead of answering I searched for her scent in the wind. I soon tracked her down; she was running back towards the direction where she had come from, escaping unnoticed in the midst of the fight, trying to flee from her, sure to come, demise.

"_She's escaping Edward!"_

"_Not if we can help it she's not! Can you reach Carlisle's mind?"_

"_Yes, I can; are you proposing we should hunt her down?"_ I asked, not really objecting and already reaching out to Carlisle.

"_I am; tell him we'll hunt Victoria and, once we're through, we're going to sent him the location where Victoria's ashes will be so one of them will come and pretend to have killed her."_ I mentally nodded in agreement and sent Carlisle Edward's message as we took flight to reach Victoria; secrecy be damned, she was going to burn. I scarcely noted Carlisle's surprised but positive response as I allowed my instincts to take control and track Victoria down.

"_We are right behind her." _Edward confirmed my estimations.

"_I'll stop her and morph in frond of her first. __I believe she deserves to find out just how it feels to be scared to death before she actually dies, don't you agree love?"_ I could now see Victoria right beneath us.

"_Wholeheartedly."_ I smiled inwardly and called forth the element of earth to assist me. Vines erupted all around her, forming a circular impenetrable wall. She tried to tear them apart but new vines appeared in the places of the destroyed ones. She tried to jump, but the branches of the trees around her formed a cage above her entwining with the vines I had called from the ground. She stood dumbfounded as the forest itself fought her. I morphed back to my normal self while still ten feet above ground and landed right behind her, barely making any sound. Edward morphed too and landed on a tree right behind the wall of vines, waiting for his queue.

I pulled the hood of the red velvet jacket I had wore in school today over my eyes to keep them hidden from her, but let my natural glow. I had decided to scare her gradually. Let her try and guess what I am for a second or two.

"Hello Victoria. Long time no see." My voice was colder than ice and I rejoiced in seeing her cringe before turning to face me. Her eyes widened as she took in my glowing form; in the dim light of the forest the light from my body must have appeared twice as bright as usual.

"Bella? How?" She muttered in surprise, catching my scent in the wind.

"Yes, it's me alright. I heard you were looking for me, so here I am." I said dismissively.

"What are you?" I grinned coldly and shook my shoulders as if in defeat;

"Straight to the point I see; what? No catching up? Don't you wonder how I've been those past months?"

"What are you?" She repeated, more heatedly this time.

"Have it your way." I offered and pulled my hood back. I heard her sharp intake of breath as she caught a glimpse of my eyes. "What's the matter Victoria? Cat got your tongue? You've never seen a goddess before?"

"Goddess?" She dumbly asked. I nodded affirmative, my grin turning wider by the second.

"That, I am; I'm afraid you got far too deep for your own sake Victoria. You really enraged the daughter of the leaders of the gods. No being in this planet, supernatural or not, can anger a goddess and get away with it you know." I saw fear in her eyes and got ready to tell Edward to come down so we could finish her off; I have had enough of her. And then her expression changed to pure malice. Her frozen laughter echoed inside the vine made cage.

"Some goddess you are! You couldn't even keep the man you love with you; oh, I know all about it you see; Edward left you. He didn't even come back to correct the mess he made." She was actually trying to hurt me even now. It was my turn to laugh; my crystal voice was joined by Edward's irresistible velvety one as he flew from where he was waiting right next to me, eyes fierce, body aglow.

"Guess again." He simply said as he took my left hand into his and raised it to place a gentle kiss on it.

"Edward? You too? But…" Fear had claimed her once more; she was positively panicking this time.

"Don't think about it too hard." He offered softly. He looked at me and I nodded; there really was no point in waiting; the fight would be over soon; I could barely hear any howling and tearing anymore. I brought my palms in frond of me and soon fire scorching enough to rival my anger blazed on them. Edward followed my lead as we turned our gaze back to Victoria. She had squirmed at the back of her 'cage' trying in vain to run away from her fate. Edward and I simultaneously raised our hands towards her, our minds connecting subconsciously as they had done back in Edward's house four days ago;

"Goodbye Victoria; we hope this fire will only be the beginning of your punishment." And then there was fire; Victoria didn't even have time to scream as the flames engulfed her. We kept the fire under control so it didn't even touch the vines. The result of such an endeavor appeared as a whirlwind of bright flames; deadly as they were, they still held a dark attraction to the beholder. A few seconds later we let the fire fade back to nothingness and watched its effect; where Victoria stood only seconds ago, a small pile of fine gray ash was all proof left of her existence. I didn't have time to ponder what had actually happened, because the sounds from the field had suddenly stopped altogether; I hastily projected our location to Carlisle as Edward forced the vines back to the ground, making grass reappear where we had burned it down.

Soon the forest appeared as it was before the fight, with only Victoria's still smoking ashes to prove it what had taken place. Edward grabbed my hand and gave it a slight squeeze; he didn't say anything and I didn't need him to. He just smiled at me reassuringly before we morphed back into our bird forms and flew away towards the edge of the forest closest to the city where I was supposed to be.

We landed back on the willow we had met earlier this afternoon. I broke the silence first;

"_I can't believe she is finally gone. Even with knowing we could take her down at any given time, all this still seems…surreal."_

"_I think I understand what you mean. What I'm interested in right now though is how you feel."_ His thoughts were filled with concern; he was sure I would soon feel guilty about what had happened; I quickly reassured him;

"_No need to worry about me; this had to be done. You know just as well as I do that Victoria was out of her mind; there was no reasoning with her. She would just keep killing people without any remorse if we had let her. You know that just as well as I do. And though killing her wasn't pleasant, I will not deny I'm nothing but relieved right now. That and nothing else."_ I could feel his understanding -and could it be admiration?- in his mind.

"_You're right, of course; I just don't want you to feel like a murderer. But I guess you got to that conclusion by yourself already." _

"_I'm cute __**and**__ smart Cullen; you should have guessed by now._" I teased him.

"_You have never been merely cute Bella. And of course you're smart; even though dating a vampire really wasn't one of the wisest choices a human could make…"_

"_I was never really human. And besides, look where that not-so-wise choice got us."_

"_Atop of a tree?"_ He asked innocently.

"_Ha, ha; funny Edward." _I retorted thou I didn't escape giggling a little. We talked like that for twenty more minutes until Esme drove back along with Carlisle; I morphed back and flew to her car after Edward and I decided it was better to meet straight in his house as to not take any more chances. Carlisle gave me their side of the story and Edward heard it through me; as soon as all the newborns were down, he had motioned for Alice and Jasper to come with him, asking the wolves to stay and burn the remaining parts of the newborns while they would try to catch Victoria's scent.

They had found the spot we had showed them soon and, after quickly explaining the situation to Alice and Jasper, they made a show of lighting a fire. By the time the wolves got there, the existence of the pile of ashes that was once Victoria could be justified.

Having settled the final touches of the battle's aftermath with the wolves, they had agreed to part ways; the wolves went back to the reservation to rest, after Carlisle swore they would inform them of my wellbeing as soon as I made it home. We had by the end of his narration reached their house. By the time the car stopped, Edward had reappeared and had opened the car's door for me. I smiled and pulled him in for a kiss. Carlisle had to clear his throat to remind us to stop. I blushed slightly and Edward chuckled, although I could swear he momentarily looked flushed too. Or it could have been from the kiss; I was still a bit lightheaded to tell.

We all entered the house where we were greeted by the rest of the family;

"That was more fun than I had in ages!" Emmet was grinning like a maniac and I could practically taste the happiness that radiated from him. That on itself wouldn't be such a surprise if I hadn't noticed Jasper, calm and withheld Jasper, shared his feelings. And it wasn't that Emmet's feelings had gotten to him; that excitement was all his own. I turned to Carlisle to check my theory; he looked a little hyper too. Even Edward seemed to be a bit affected by the fight. Then again he was staring at me so I might have misinterpreted the source of his excitement. What can I say? Boys will come at all shapes, colors and species, but they'll always be boys.

"Glad someone had fun; can't say the same for the newborns and Victoria though."

"Nice work with Victoria you two." Alice chirped. "You left no sign of your involvement behind whatsoever; weren't it for the ashes, we couldn't be able to tell there even was a fight." Edward nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thankfully Carlisle didn't freeze when Bella sent him that message; I was fleetingly concerned that you would get injured if you froze mid-fight." He admitted.

"Don't worry about it; the newborns were far too shocked their ambush didn't work to take advantage of my slight pause. I don't believe they even noticed. I didn't know you could do that though; send thoughts in other people's minds." His scientific interest was peaking once more.

"Oh, we can do that and many more; I just wish we could actually put it to use instead of hiding under a rock." I muttered ruefully.

"For someone hiding under a rock, you did a great job with Victoria." Rose offered smiling.

"About Victoria," Edward begun "do you have any idea how she managed to flee the battlefield unnoticed."

"My best guess," Jasper said thoughtfully "is that she escaped the moment she saw us attacking the first newborns of the second part of her army -we all had our hands full at the moment- and right before the rest of the wolves came to our aid; the fact that she missed them while they exited the forest was plain luck on her side; thankfully that luck run out shortly after that."

"You're probably right. Even Bella and I failed to see her escape." And I was still slightly angry with myself about that fact. Edward probably sensed my uneasiness and squeezed my hand slightly once more; suddenly I felt the need to be alone with him. Non much of a surprise there.

"At least you realized she was gone." Alice said making a face. "Some psychic I am; not seeing an act like that."

"You couldn't have Alice. No one could have. She made her decision in the spur of the moment, plus you were blocked by all the wolves in the area." Edward said putting her at ease. We talked a little about the wolves themselves and their part in the fight; Carlisle gave Sam a call to thank them. Their conversation was much friendlier than the one they had four days ago. Maybe things were warming up between the supernatural creatures of the area.

I talked to Sam and the rest of the pack too, thanking them for their help and assuring them I wasn't harmed in any way. After convincing them there was no need to come check me up today, since they needed the rest after all, they said they would check on me the moment they woke up. I hung up the phone and prattled with my family about the battle a little longer.

I was soon worn out. Not tired in any way, but I longed for spending the night in Edward's embrace; I was ready to go home. One look towards Edward told me he was attuned to my mood. Feeling grateful I listened to him talking to his family, taking matters in his own hands, right where I wanted to be.

"I think we should go to Bella's house, if you don't mind. It's nine already and today has lasted long enough."

"Come on Ed! We could have a couple of races in Wii; I've been dying to find out how Bella would…" Rosalie elbowed him on the side and a low thud was heard. "What was that for?" She eyed him closely and I fought with my urge to laugh. If confused Edward looked breathtaking, confused Emmet looked down right hilarious. Almost like a huge lost puppy that just had his bone stolen. Rose's stare did the trick however as he mouthed a silent 'oh' in understanding and his face turned mischievous. "Then again if you have something better to do…" he added and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Like getting you soaked wet for instance?" Edward asked politely, causing Emmet took cover behind Rose. I burst into laughter this time soon followed by the rest of the family, except, once more, Emmet.

"It's a conspiracy." He muttered still hidden behind Rose, stirring a second round of laughter in the room. Soon after that, we gave our goodnights and flew back to my house unafraid of being spotted in such a cloudy night.

No sooner than we touched the floor of my bedroom he had locked me in a fierce kiss; we started walking backwards, discarding various items of clothing on our way. My jacket was the first to go, soon followed by his. I was halfway through the buttons of his shirt when a crystal voice rang in my head;

"_Bella."_ Edward froze the moment my mother's voice was heard. He looked at me in wonder.

"It's my mother! Can you hear her too?"

"Yes; it's like her voice is echoing in my head." He whispered holding me tighter.

"_Bella it's time; we're ready honey."_ And that was my father. I ran to the other side of the room and picked up my jacket as Edward copied my movements with his.

"It's time! We have to go get them!" I almost shouted. Edward nodded at me and smiled, offering me his hand. I took it -marveling at the comfort such a simple movement provided- and called forth the element of darkness, asking from it to open the portal to the underworld while picturing my parents' prison. The darkness stirred and twirled upwards and around, looking like a thick dark fog, slowly morphing into an arch. It appeared like the arch was made out of black marble and through it came gray mist allowing only hazy shapes to be visible from what lay beyond it.

I looked at Edward and the determination I saw in his eyes moved me to my core; he had never met my parents; all they were to him was two voices he had heard into his head only seconds ago and what I had told him. And yet, for me, he was ready to possibly condemn himself to eternal imprisonment, a life away from all the things he loved, away from his family. I promised myself that if we made it out, _when _we made it out, I would never leave his side and make damn sure he understood just what he meant to me.

"Are you ready love?" he asked me for the second time this day. My eyes were watery and I'm sure I shed some tears, but I was smiling. I held his hand tighter in mine and repeated my words from earlier that afternoon;

"As long as you're with me." He kissed me softly on the lips and whispered;

"Always. Even if that means I'll have to follow you to hell and back." I buried my face into his chest and held him as tight as I could for a few seconds.

"I love you Edward." I whispered, my words muffled by his chest.

"As I love you Bella." I took a step back and reluctantly released him. I took his hand in mine and, with one last look at his eyes, turned to the portal I had created.

"Here we go then." I whispered as we took the steps that could lead us to our downfall. We took the steps that might lead us to my parents and our future as a family; together.


	21. Titanomachy

Hey there everyone! Please forgive me for the much too late update. All I have to say in my defense is this; MIDTERMS… God, I hate them, but they're part of college life as much as everything… Enough said about that. Now as far as this chapter is concerned, I tried to make it longer again as the slightest compensation for the long wait. Just let me thank all of you my readers and reviewers who stuck with me for this long and assure you that this story will definitely be completed. Now to answer some of the questions you asked;

**Irene90; **Yes, I did use a small part of Shakespeare's sonnets… Hehe, couldn't help it! And you'll see what will happen with Bella's parents in this chapter. I hope you'll enjoy reading it!

**Coffeeholic7;** Hmm… I promise that I'll give you some, let's say crispier, scenes in the future.

**Jackie;** It will be just a few more chapters now, I'm afraid. Maybe three more or so.

**Sol Swan Cullen;** you'll have to wait for Jacob's reaction to everything, but not for long. Probably till the next chapter.

**Twird96;** Bella's dad killing Edward? Now where did you get that idea from I wonder (and now picture me smiling evilly…)

**I Won't Go Home Without You;** Nothing really, I just had Edward admit that he can sometimes be as mature and stubborn as a five year old… ;p

And that would be all! I just hope you'll enjoy this next chapter too! It happens to be one of my personal favorites! And, please, don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**TITANOMACHY**

"_Here we go then." I whispered as we took the steps that could lead us to our downfall. We took the steps that might lead us to my parents and our future as a family; together. _

I looked around me in wonder. And yet, as hard as I searched, as far as I pushed my eyesight upwards so enhanced as it was, all I could see in frond of me was gray granite rock. A vertical wall stretching upwards to the heavens -or whatever the end of this black sky was- with a huge crack in the middle that served as a gate to the prison that held my parents. Nothing I had ever imagined could have prepared me for this; was this monstrosity the place where my parents were imprisoned for more than eighteen years now?

My heart clenched in pure anguish as I turned to Edward. He read the pain in my eyes and offered me a short smile, comforting me as much as he could before he turned around to observe his surroundings. Not being able to take my eyes from my parents' prison I felt him stiffen beside me. While following his gaze afraid for the worse, I was compelled to follow his example too; I froze.

Behind us the scenery looked just like something brought right out of my worst nightmares into true life to haunt me; the ground was painted a sickly deep orange and was cracked all over, almost appearing to be perched and scorched under a bright sun. Still the sun itself was nowhere to be found. I roamed the sky with my eyes and what appeared to have been pure black to me now unfolded its true nature.

It was darkness; not dark blue or black or anything else. Just darkness. I could rather feel it than actually see it twirling around and moving endlessly to some place at the opposite side from us, but there was no doubt in my mind anymore. So this was the place they called the Underworld; a deserted land as my father once put it, at least the place they were held.

"So what now?" Edward asked staying calm for both our sakes. In all truth I didn't know; I was somehow supposed to unlock all my strength and navigate it towards the wall of the cell. But was I supposed to attack full front without warning my parents first? As if hearing my doubt, my father's voice echoed in my head.

"_It's time now Bells. Don't worry you'll be okay; just aim at the opening and give it your best shot." _I turned at Edward again; he smiled at me and urged my forward.

"I'll be right here for you love. I won't let anything happen to you, I swear."

"Then let's do this." I breathed in deeply and focused on the wall in frond of me, marking it as a target in my head as clearly as possible. I closed my eyes and called forth my powers. I tried to not simply choose one of them to manifest but push all of them forward instead and see what would come of it. I felt stupid for a second. Nothing seemed to be happening, no bright light manifesting itself, no rumbling sounds, no nothing. I was ready to open my eyes and ask Edward for his opinion when it happened.

Slowly I felt something deep inside my chest moving and taking life of its own, almost begging me to come out. Warmth spread from my very core to every last fiber of my being, trembling and shining inside me as it made its way towards the final layers of my skin. The warmth intensified as it finally hit the outer layers of my body, but it wasn't unpleasant one bit; on the contrary, it felt oddly liberating. Almost like the way I felt when I flew. I don't if it happened because I thought of flying or not, but the very moment thoughts of flight hit my mind, I sensed my feet leaving the ground gracefully and found myself floating. I reveled in the sensation for a second and then focused back on the task at hand; I had to get my parents out.

More energy kept surging from within me and slowly gathered in my hands as I raised them upwards, with eyes still closed, aiming straight at the wall. The waves of pure strength rippled through me and suddenly I started feeling lightheaded; the warmth was so comforting. It felt natural and just right to be that way. Then a different sensation caught me. It felt like a slight tugging on my head. How odd.

"_That's right little girl keep the energy floating through you. Why let go and waste all that warmth on the wall?" _Huh? That was new; whom did that voice belong to? It sounded familiar in way, but, if I had to, I could swear I had never heard it before. Why did it sound so familiar then? The voice was smooth and comforting, almost leaving a sweet aftertaste in my mind. For a moment there I felt there was a double edge on that voice; something hidden behind it. Some malice still unknown to me, something threatening. I swiftly brushed it off; I had no time for voices in my head. I had to get my parents out.

"_But why? Isn't it nice, the way you feel now? Don't you want to see how far can you go with your powers?"_ There it was again. That voice. It did make a point though. I would like to see how far I could go with my powers and then, when my curiosity was satisfied, I would break down the prison's walls. I let more of my powers flow through me; a strange feeling of being home at last reached me and a soft haze began clouding my mind. I could sense my powers forming a cocoon around me and I felt protected from the world. But I had to let go; I had to get my parents out, right?

"_Come on little girl, why stop now. Can't you feel it too? You're home now. You're safe."_ Of course the unknown man -for he was a man- was right; this did feel like home. That was when I felt something moving outside my protective shell. Somewhere down beneath me I could sense movement and hear something like… battle cries? Like the sound the elements made when I practiced in my basement back home. But who could make such sounds now? I wasn't using any of my powers that way. Edward? Edward! He was down there! Was he in danger? I tried to lift the haze from my mind.

"_He is fine. Don't worry about anything; you're safe. If you stay like this there will be no more pain. Remember how you felt when he left you? Do you want to feel that pain again?"_ The voice argued in my head and I withdrew deeper in my cocoon, which now was thickening, slightly confused from the voice's knowledge of my past. But that thought was soon forgotten as the full force of the pain _his _abandonment had caused me came back and an imaginary, yet very physically painful hole made its reappearance on my chest. The fog in my mind thickened too but a small voice of reason I vaguely recognized as my own reminded me that he had come back to me. That Edward loved me and I loved him too and we were going to be fine now.

"_He could leave you again. You're safe here, why should you let go?_" The voice was right. I was safe here. There would be no more pain and no more leaving me behind. How could have I even imagined the voice would want to hurt me in the first place? I was safe and I was free and I could barely hear the sounds outside my shell anymore. Why did I even want to let go of my powers in the first place anyway? I remembered there was something I had come here to do but…

"_Don't bother. You're safe here."_ Of course I was safe here! If only I could remember where here was… How meddlesome that haze in my mind was! Why was I here anyways?

"_No more questions. Just keep still little Bella." _Okay, I would keep still and protected in my cocoon. I could trust the voice. Just one thing was left unanswered now; why did the voice called me Bella? Who was this Bella?

**Edward's POV;**

So this was the Underworld. A world truly devoid of life, empty to all extends. I let my eyes wander on that hideous wall in front of us. This had to be the entrance to Bella's parents' prison. Those cursed gods really didn't fool around did they?

I turned my attention back to my love; she was in pain, I could tell. I smiled at her as warmly as I could; it would all be over soon. We would set her parents free and then I would devote the rest of my life to make sure she would never have to feel this way again. I would make sure she would be kept happy and smiling at all times. I turned around, double-checking to make sure we were alone. I had to freeze at what I saw. Bella felt my reaction and turned to see for herself. Her movements copied mine exactly. I couldn't blame her.

The ground was cracked and dried, a dessert of burnt sienna stretching endlessly under a dark sky. I briefly wondered how we could see even if there was no source of light around. I found my own answer unnerving; the ground must be producing the luminosity necessary. We had to get out of here fast; I tried my best to remain calm but still I had the worst of feelings for this place that brought to my mind words for the valley of death.

I had just turned to Bella and asked her whether she knew what to do or not, when the voice of her father reached my mind; _"It's time now Bells. Don't worry you'll be okay; just aim at the opening and give it your best shot."_ So, it was finally going to happen. My Bella tuned to me for support;

"I'll be right here for you love. I won't let anything happen to you, I swear." And I would keep that promise; come what may, I would make sure we would all, her parents included, walk free out of this place. I wouldn't stand for us to spend eternity trapped here. Even though eternity with Bella would be perfect in anyplace, she deserved much more than that.

"Then let's do this." She moved forward and I found my eyes were unable to leave her form. There it was; that feeling again. The urge inside of me that told me that if I took my eyes away from her she would disappear, dissolving into thin air. I shook my head not wanting to let my always worrying self unnerve Bella. I watched her as she focused on the wall and closed her eyes, willing her powers to manifest themselves, yet nothing seemed to happen. Had something gone wrong?

And then I felt it; a strong surge of power coming from her in waves, spreading its warmth to the wasteland around us. Slowly her skin lit up more than it usually did as that power found its way out. Now I couldn't take my eyes of her even if I tried; she looked mesmerizing. Her hands spread at her sides and her long hair started floating around her as the light intensified. I could feel the pure white rays touching my skin and going through my body, warming me to the core.

Then her feet left the ground and she ascended until she was at least twenty feet from the ground. She had become the sun this place lacked. An overwhelming wave of bliss shook my body; by some whim of fate this goddess was mine. I didn't deserve her, I really didn't. But I was never going to let her go; I couldn't let her go. I focused on her face marveling on her perfect features that where now shining bright and illuminating this dark place.

And then I knew something was wrong; she was slightly biting her lower lip as she did when she was in deep thought. I always loved that little movement of hers, founding it unbelievably enticing, but now it just felt wrong. She slightly shook her head as if she was trying to disperse a nightmare that had formed in her mind. What was happening to her? I was about to ask her through our connection when I heard it; a swishing sound some good feet behind me.

I turned around and for the second time since I entered this god forsaken place I froze; a portal similar to the one Bella and I had used to get here was being created out of pure darkness that had appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere. I braced myself and got ready to attack to whatever came through that door, a small part of my brain making a mental note to myself to actually pay attention when my unconscious tried to warn me the next time around.

The doorway solidified and three men made their way out; they all were somewhere over six feet tall and appeared to be in their early twenties. One was ash blond and sported a ridiculously annoying grin. The one at the right, the bulkier one, had long brown hair that was flowing behind him as he walked. The third one, who also had light brown hair, albeit shorter, stopped immediately once he exited the gate and looked maliciously at Bella. Their facial characteristics were seemingly shaped to perfection yet with a closer inspection I found something oddly repelling in them; almost as if they were too perfect. Fake.

And of course I could plainly see that their eyes were a clouded gold. The cursed ones. I prepared for a fight and hoped Bella would free her parents soon; I might be able to control more elements than the three of them did, but they have millennia of experience and are three after all. Plus, I was in their turf. I watched two of them, the blond and the bulky one, moving closer while the third one stayed behind still looking at my Bella. I had no time to process what he could be doing because the blond decided it was high time to strike me with a lightning bolt.

I felt my body lift from the floor and fly backwards till I collided with something hard; that damn granite wall managed to prove inconvenient whether you were locked inside or outside of the prison it withheld. I tried not to shout, not wanting to give them the pleasure, but I couldn't help the groan that escaped my lips. I had just made an important discovery for my newfound god status; lightning bolts couldn't kill me, but they sure hurt like hell. I pushed myself from the wall and prepared to retaliate. Experienced or not, I was the only one standing between them and Bella. And they weren't going to touch her. Furry rippled through me. _Not her_.

I stood up and took a look at Bella to make sure she was still safe. What I saw wasn't at all what I expected; where Bella was a few seconds ago I could now only see an orb of pure white light. And I could feel Bella inside it. Instinctively I knew this had something to do with the remaining one of the cursed ones that stood staring at Bella. I let out a roar, a reminder of my vampire days, and began striking back right before the blond tried to attack again.

Relying mostly on impulse I decided to play with fire. After all fire was the element connected with emotions and the rage I felt towards those three men, no, those _creatures_ for trying to hurt _my_ Bella was enough to reduce the already scorched land of the Underworld to dust.

And like that, fire sprouted from both my hands and flew swiftly towards the two of the three cursed ones. Magnified from my anger the fire had turned from a simple ray to a full wall of blazing flames. A grin spread across my face as I watched them take the full force of my attack and, mostly, as I watched their surprised expressions while they were hit. They really didn't expect something of that magnitude from me.

Immediately, the blond extinguished the fires throwing water from his hands, while the bulkier one bent down to touch the ground. A rumbling sound was heard and suddenly a wall made of the orange earth of the underworld itself rose to protect them.

"Nice hit boy." The one that had created the protecting wall said. His voice was deep and would have been pleasant if I couldn't feel the ice behind it. "Quite the moves you got there." He spoke without a specific accent yet his voice had a musical tone to it. I felt a tugging on my mind and I swiftly pushed the intruding conscience out of my conscious. I had enough experience with mind reading to know when someone was trying to get into mine. It was the blonds' time to speak; his voice was lighter and cheerful yet equally frozen, allowing only a soft undertone of surprise to slip through.

"Seems we started on the wrong foot here." He offered lightly. "Hi there. I'm Loki and this man on my right is Set. The one you see in the back is Kronos." Was he actually trying to make small talk with me? "What would your name be?" he said as he stepped away from the wall he was hiding behind a big smile of his face. I shivered. It was almost a copy of the huge grins I was used to receiving from Emmet, only his smile never reached his eyes, making his smile distinctively unlike the goofy grins my brother freely offered around. Not knowing what else to do I decided to see where he was going with it.

"Edward." I said mastering my feelings as I was trained to do when being angry and around Jasper, trying to sound unaffected by their presence. "My name is Edward." His smile never fell as he took another step towards me. I really didn't like this at all but now idea of how I could get the upper hand got to my mind. All I could do was play along.

"Edward then. Your powers seem to be rather developed, yet you can't have them for more than… when was my dear niece's birthday again? Oh yes, three months ago? Care to share your secrets?" he asked smiling as brightly as ever. He was really getting on my nerves. Time to fight fire with fire. I smiled brightly back at him too.

"Sorry, but that would be cheating. You should learn to handle your powers by yourself you know. One would say you're old enough." With glee I noticed his smile falter for a second before coming back to full force.

"Well put little Edward." _Little_? Don't let him get on your nerves Edward. For Bella's sake don't let him. I kept chanting that to myself while trying to find a way to take control of the conversation.

"I might just give you some pointers if you would answer a question for me; how did you know we were here?" Now that I would like to find out. Bella hadn't even touched the wall yet.

"Nice question boy. You see very few amongst our race have the power to control darkness and most of them are actually gathered here. Those who aren't here would never dare to set a foot in the Underworld. So Kronos back there figured out that if someone tried to enter using the dark element would be our baby niece up there. So when a portal was opened we came running. You on the other hand were an unexpected bonus. We only expected her." He said and pointed at Bella. The orb surrounding her was brighter now. I could barely feel her anymore.

As I turned to look at her the bulkier one, Set, jumped behind the wall he had created, executed a perfectly balanced summersault and landed punching the ground. The earth beneath him rippled and rose in sharp fang like pieces that where swiftly heading my way. I took flight and let them pass right behind me. Loki took the opportunity to throw another lightning bolt at me.

I avoided it this time and hit him back with one lightning bolt of my own out of pure instinct that hit him straight on the chest. While flying back down I borrowed a page from their book and created a wall to protect myself from their blows. So much for small talk. I was still surprised not all three of them weren't attacking me.

And mostly I was worried for Bella. How could I help her? I felt like smacking my head on the wall I had conjured. What good is the ability to converse through our minds if I wouldn't use it? I reached for her mind. A strong spasm of despair shook me. I could barely feel her. What had happened to my Bella? It appeared as if a haze, a thick dark fog, clouded her mind and prevented me from reaching her. I longed to hear her voice again in my mind but it was like I couldn't find her. And then, as I searched for her, I found the voice of someone else.

"_No more questions. Just keep still little Bella." _It was the voice of a god that much I could tell. Then it hit me; the one that had stayed behind. Kronos. He must have been the one doing this while the others just gave him some time to do whatever it was he was doing to Bella's mind. I tried my best to dissolve the fog fighting back its advances while searching for Bella's consciousness at the same time. She was there I could feel it; I started talking to her hoping that she would hear me, fighting to dominate to her thoughts so Kronos wouldn't get a way back in.

"Bella! It's me, Edward. Come back to me love. I know you can hear me. Please, fight back Bella." No response. At the same time something hit the other side of the wall I had created. "Bella, listen to me please." Nothing. I started panicking. "Bella come on! Come on love fight for yourself, for your parents." The fog stood unaffected. Was I too late?

Another hit on the wall. A chunk broke and fell as a result of the impact but I couldn't bring myself to care. I felt tears in my eyes; I didn't care about them either. I started pleading. "Fight for me love." No response. Another hit on the wall. It wouldn't last long now. I looked at the bright orb that was Bella's powers, her own strength that held her hidden from me and summoned all my feelings for her; all the love, all the hope for our future. My everything. And just as the wall in front of me took a final hit and collapsed I shouted out loud and in her head. I called for her. I screamed her name.

"_BELLA!"_

**Bella's POV;**

I stood still in my cocoon in complete silence as the voice had instructed. The fog around me was thicker than before and very still but it was okay. I was safe here, right? It was warm yet somehow suffocating and I felt like something important was missing… Nah, no more thoughts of that. What if the warmth was suppressing me? What if I craved for some fresh air? I could trust the voice. Of course I could! Couldn't I? And suddenly the fog sifted.

Like it was hit by the air I had wished for though it never actually reached me. Whispers… someone was whispering through the fog. That voice sounded familiar too. But who could it be? The fog moved again and this time I could almost feel the wind that carried the voice;

"…fight for yourself, for your parents…" Parents? What parents? And that voice… so perfect! Like velvet and honey. Oh, I knew that voice! It felt like it was the most important sound in the world for me. I had to know that voice! But from where?

"Fight for me love." He sounded like he was pleading for me. Had he called me love? Why did I felt I could take on the whole world and win just because that voice called me 'love'? My head was hurting again. And suddenly I felt trapped inside the fog; how could I have ever felt protected here in the first place? The warmth was too much. It burned me now. And that amazing voice. Why couldn't I remember? I just wanted to remember the man behind that voice! If only the fog would go away…

The wind blew again and I felt it this time; like a cool breeze that touched me and brought me back from a nightmare. Such an invigorating feeling. And with the wind came that voice again. It screamed just one word this time. My name;

"_BELLA!" _

And it all came back to me; my parents, the Underworld and of course the man behind the voice; Edward. _My_ Edward. And just as quickly as it came, the fog dispersed; the cocoon around me lightened until finally it was gone too. I snapped my eyes open and looked around; three men where attacking Edward. Three gods. Three gods with clouded gold eyes. The cursed ones.

"Edward watch out!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I watched a wave of ice heading his way from the man standing at the back. He seemed to sprung into action the moment he heard my voice sending fire -was that really a wall of fire?- towards the ice. He turned up to look at me with my favorite grin in place as the ice evaporated to smoke in front of him momentarily hiding him from his assaulters. Was that tears in his eyes?

"_Are you all right love? Are you hurt? What happened?"_ My overanxious Edward. How could I forget?

"_I love you. Thank you for bringing me back; I'll explain later. At least I'll explain what I understand myself. Keep those jerks at bay for a little longer. My parents will know what to do with them."_ He smiled at me again, despite the tears in his eyes; I could feel his joy and that gave me strength to go on. Suddenly, I realized I was still suspended in mid-air. I quickly summoned my powers again, no tugging on my mind this time.

The warmth chorused through my body once more but this time I didn't let it get too far. Edward kept fighting the cursed ones beneath me as I focused on the wall. With no fog in my head I suddenly knew when the right time to strike was.

The light around my body focused on my hands and then, finally, I let it all go. A beam of pure white light left my hands and made impact with the door. I held steady and kept channeling all I had to my target. The cursed ones beneath me decided to change their target from Edward to me, but he didn't seem to agree as he sent one more of his fire walls, an even greater one this time, towards them. He really had a talent with those.

I refocused on the wall as a deep rumbling sound came from the granite; the door was opening. Inch by inch with a ferocious growl the sides of the fissure parted. And then I saw them; my parents made their way out of their prison. They looked at the battle in front of them and afterwards their eyes travelled upwards to me, both smiling as I swiftly landed next to them. Or to be more accurate, on top of them.

"Nice flying honey, but we'll need to work on your landing skills." My father joked as he rose from the ground. I didn't know what to say. When they both stood up I just did the first thing that popped into mind. Something I wanted to do from the first time I saw them. I ran back to them and hugged them, holding them for dear life.

"Hey there baby." My mother said in between sobs. My father simply held me as he cried some tears of his own.

A lightning bolt gashed the wall behind us, effectively ending our reunion. I looked at Edward. He was using fire again to hold them back. As unbelievable as it looked the fire barrier he had created looked even bigger this time. His hair was more ruffled than usual and with the fire behind him he looked truly dazzling. No surprise there. He turned at our side and once he saw my parents next to me he smiled. My knees felt week from his smile, even at the situation we were at.

I turned back to my parents; my mother looked slightly surprised as she looked at the flames, but I could tell it was a good surprise. My father looked at Edward in a thoughtful manner; I just hope he wouldn't get all daddy-like right now.

"What do you say we go help your soul mate honey?" My mother offered and I nodded my agreement in glee. The fire wall Edward had created faded and we finally faced the cursed ones as a family. Oh, how I enjoyed the stunned look on their faces! They were positively frightened as my father, after acknowledging Edward with a short nod -and thankfully a soft smile, moved forward to address them;

"Long time no see." He said frostily. If looks could kill, those three would be dead as dust, whether they where gods or not. "If I remember correctly, last time you tried to kill my daughter and imprisoned me and my wife in that sorry excuse for a cell. Can't say I missed you."

"Now Ouranos, let's be sensible about it…" I instantly recognized the voice from my previous fog tilted nightmare. Edward growled beside me, but it was my mother who spoke.

"Sensible Kronos? But of course; we are going to be so sensible that we actually plan to give you the same treatment you so kindly bestowed us with eighteen years ago." If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes it would have been hard to believe that my kind spirited mother could look so intimidating. Wonders never seize I guess, at least not in this family.

"I'm sure that we can find another way to deal with the situation." The blond one offered calmly. "I'm sure that Bella over there can tell you that we never…"

"Don't you even dare mention her name!" Edward's voice boomed in the deserted land, his hands ablaze with new lit fire, effectively making the blond take a step back in fear. Edward looked positively wild at the moment and I found myself wondering if someone had turned on the heating in this place.

"I guess that settles it." My father said with a smirk on his face and waved his right hand. That small flicker was apparently all it took to create a mass whirlwind and send it towards the still scared cursed ones.

"I say we put them in the cell they kept us, what do you think?" My mother asked softly, like it was the simplest thing in the world. Still, I nodded in agreement, a weird sense of giddiness getting the best out of me. My parents leaped forward and, while my father took flight and kept pushing the cursed ones backwards by hitting them with powerful gust of winds or lightning bolts, my mother used ice to immobilize them for as long as possible, disabling their ability to fight back.

The cursed ones snapped out of their original shock quite fast and seemed to opt on not getting imprisoned for the rest of time. They began fighting back causing their retreat towards the still open gate to delay and then stop altogether.

"_Love?"_ I heard Edwards voice in mind.

"_Yes?"_

"_Remember the vines you used to entrap Victoria?"_ I nodded yes, trying to figure out where he was going with his plan. _"Do you think you can find any type of vegetation here to create them again? I believe they would be quite useful as restraining measures."_ I smiled at him and started my research towards the ground, not wasting another second. In the beginning all I encountered was rocks, dry ground and more rocks. And just about when I was ready to tell him I couldn't find anything, a small spore caught my attention. It wasn't like any other type of flora I had ever encountered, but it would have to do.

"_I think I got something love. So what's the plan?" _

"_You'll use those vines to catch them now that your parents brought them to a standstill and throw them backwards, while I will help your parents immobilize them and push them towards the cave. When we shove them inside, you'll close the door while I'll block the exit and, hopefully, that will be the last we'll see of them ever again."_ His voice when referring to the cursed ones was so dark I could practically taste it. I smiled slyly and gave him thumbs up. I reached for the plant I had previously discovered and got ready to attack, sending one last thought to Edward.

"_You know, during the last ten minutes you have proven to be quite… feral_." His eyebrow quirked in surprise.

"_Really?"_ He was somewhat confused about what I meant.

"_Yes, really. I might just have you show me how untamed you can become later. Just so you know…"_ Okay, now the grin he gave me as my words sunk in _really_ was feral. Damn, that comment was supposed to leave _him_ hot and bothered, not the other way around!

"_That, I can promise you love."_ And with that he leaped forward, throwing ice to the massive one of the trio, who was at the moment trying to escape, rendering him immobile.

I came back to my senses and focused on the plant fifteen feet beneath me, calling it to the surface. A second later, with a rumbling sound and after rocketing some dirt all around in the process, the first vine emerged from the ground. I was right; I had never seen a plant like this before but then again, after seeing the Underworld with my own eyes, I should have figured out any type of life form originating from this place would have to immediately be classified as creepy. But for what I needed them, those vines would be just perfect.

I flicked my wrist and a thick black vine filled with thorns that strongly resembled iron nails, flew towards the man Edward had just brought down. After encircling him, I moved the vine backwards and threw him inside the cave. Edward took flight and reached the cave's entrance himself, ready to stop him from coming back outside. Not one to disappoint he tried to break free only seconds later, just to find himself thrown back by a well balanced yet vicious lightning bolt.

I left him to Edward to handle and I turned my attention back to the remaining two. It was a slow process since, as soon as they understood what I was trying to do they avoided the vines, but after about thirty minutes, a couple of failed attempts on our side, a few failed escapades from their side and a massive firewall -courtesy of Edward- later, I found myself ready to close the wall for the final time.

I gathered the strength necessary while the cursed ones decided to launch one final attack, hitting us, more accurately hitting me, with all they had. My parents got ready to attack but Edward, not failing to notice who the target of their attack was, beat them to the punch. Literally.

He ducked down and punched the ground viciously; if I had thought that he was great with fire, I could now confess that he was breathtaking with water. A deep growl was heard from the ground and a thick wall of water erupted heading upwards in dazzling speed. In a matter of seconds I could no longer see where it ended even though I floated twenty feet above them.

Suddenly Edward rose and brought his hands forward, causing the water to freeze into a sparkling glacier. My mind barely registered the stunned expressions of my parents before I focused back at the wall, wanting nothing more than to finish this once and for all.

With a final deafening roar, the wall closed hiding the cave inside which I first met my parents and the men that imprisoned them from my sight for good. I landed next to them and for a few seconds we just stood there looking at each other, none moving, still unable to realize it was finally over. Edward was the one who moved first. He ran towards me and before I could realize what he was doing he caught me in his arms and crushed his lips onto mine.

A few dizzying moments later I was kissing him back with fervor, momentarily forgetting where I was and who was watching us. A discrete coughing sound brought me back to reality; I stepped back and turned to face my parents, Edward never leaving me from his embrace. My mother was smiling knowingly while my father looked at Edward with narrowed eyes. I blushed but Edward seemed unfazed as he smiled at my parents. Never letting me from his arms he moved forward and extended his hand to my mother who was closer to him.

"It's great to finally be able to meet you. I'm Edward." My mother smiled and instead of shaking his hand moved forward and pulled him in for a hug. Edward seemed a little surprised from her move and so was I, but soon hugged her back.

"It's great to meet you too Edward. I'm Gaia." She stepped back to get a better look at Edward. "My, my… it seems our Bella picked a handsome one, didn't she?" My mother teased, causing Edward to blush slightly and smile warmly back at her. My father moved towards Edward and studied him carefully. Any lesser man would have faltered or at least started fidgeting under the golden stare of the leader of the gods, but Edward stood his ground. My mother looked at me a little concerned but my father surprised us both when he smiled and extended his hand to Edward first.

"Well it seems that my daughter knew what she was doing when she picked you." He said and smiled as Edward shook his hand. I let out an inaudible sigh and so did my mother. "I'm Ouranos, Bella's father. I hope we can trust you with the happiness of our daughter." Oh oh… Daddy mode activated.

"I would rather die than have anything happen to Bella sir." Edward stated calmly. My father waved his hand dismissively.

"No need to call me sir, Edward. Just call me Ouranos. Or dad. Whatever suits you best." I gapped at my father and then run to hug him; he was one big softie after all. "Hey honey, why so surprised? I never threatened to attack the boy, did I?"

"No." I agreed my voice muffled as I never stopped hugging him. My mother laughed behind us.

"You never threatened him but for a moment back there you sure seemed ready to charge." She said joking. Edward joined her laughter while messing up his hair further with his hand. I couldn't believe my luck. I finally had all my family with me.

"Sorry for that, but I couldn't help it." My father admitted coyly. "Edward kind of caught me of guard rushing to Bella like that." He made a face at the memory. "That will take some getting used to." He admitted. Edward smiled again.

"Sorry for that too, but for a moment back there I thought I had lost her." He turned to me, eyes bright with fear. "What happened back there? One moment you were ready to attack and the next thing I know, you're lost inside an orb of light and I'm outside, desperate as ever and unable to reach you."

"I really don't know what happened." I admitted. "I heard the voice of the one you called Kronos in my mind and then I found myself forgetting stuff, until I was lost in a fog, trapped inside my mind, not even remembering my own name." My mother gasped and brought her hand to her mouth.

"Is that what took you so long?" My father asked concerned.

"Yes." I said, not sure why they acted that way.

"We thought that we couldn't hear you because you were gathering your powers to strike the wall." My father whispered paling. "We never thought that they would… we should have warned you…" He looked ready to collapse.

"Ouranos, what's wrong? What happened to her?" Edward asked as my mother began crying. My father breathed in deeply for a while, seemingly steadying himself.

"Kronos tried to trap you into your own mind, using the power of darkness. Technically it's impossible to do, but in the rare occasion that a god or goddess are using their full strength, if another god breaks into their mind, they can turn their strength against them, using the power of darkness. Kronos tried to do that to you; he first made you forget why you were here and then made you forget yourself. Your powers, not knowing what to do since you couldn't remember why you called them on the first place, did the only thing logical; they tried to seal you from any external attack waiting for you to command them on what to do next." My father stopped and looked at me scared, as if I was going to drop dead any second now.

"So that's why I felt as I was being wrapped in a cocoon. I technically was." I said more to myself than anyone. My mother let out a small sob and hugged me for dear life. "It's okay mom. Nothing happened, see?" my father seemed in the brink of tears too.

"Bella you don't understand. Your powers in their purest form created an impenetrable shield, separating you from the outer world. The order from you for them to disperse would have never come since you didn't even remember who you were. Theoretically, once you had reached that point when you couldn't remember yourself, there should have been no turning back. You would remain trapped forever inside your mind with no way out; a prison much worse than the one we were in." My mother stepped back to look at me, just to make sure I was still there, while Edward held me tight again wrapping his arms around me tightly from the behind, placing his chin on top of my head.

"I could have…" I muttered, unable to go any further. I felt something wet and warm trailing down my cheeks, but I was too shocked to have started crying. I felt Edward's chest that was flushed on my back convulsing. I turned upwards and looked at his face. His lips were slightly parted and his eyes held a tortured look; it was his tears that had fallen on my face. I turned around and cupped his face. "Hey, I'm here. I'm fine. You got me out, remember?" He bent to kiss me down once more, almost as if I was his lifeline.

"Edward… Edward got you out?" My mother asked surprised. I turned to face her, a very difficult feat as Edward's hands almost constricted every movement.

"Yes, he did. I remember I was floating inside that fog when it suddenly stirred and I heard someone whispering through it. A voice that was telling me to fight back. I started remembering things and then the wind that moved the fog reached me along with Edward's voice screaming my name. That was when I snapped out of it." I explained as my parents turned to stare at Edward. He didn't seem to notice though as he held me tighter and buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply, mumbling something about never letting me go.

"It seems we owe you much more than we thought son." My father said and moved closer to place a hand on Edward's shoulder as my mother pulled both of us in her embrace. "Thank you. For everything."

"You don't owe me anything. I should have seen this coming; Bella should have never been in such a situation to begin with." He said shivering. He was blaming himself? Oh, love…

"You couldn't possibly know what was happening Edward. If anything we should have warned Bella, but we never thought there would be more than one types of alarm in this place." My mother said, shaking her head in regret. "If anything you did more than we knew was possible. Thank you son." We stood like that for a few more minutes trying to comprehend everything that had happened. Finally, I breathed deeply and spoke;

"Don't you think we should better get out of here? This place kind of creeps me out." My mother laughed while my father and Edward chuckled softly.

"I think you're right honey." My father agreed.

"What about those three?" Edward asked referring to the cursed ones.

"As long as one of us doesn't snap and decide to free them, they won't see the light of day ever again." My mother said firmly. I smiled, finally able to let that part of my past to rest. I raised my hand and called forth the power of darkness ready to go home. When the portal was ready, I turned to my parents.

"Are you ready?" My father winked at me playfully.

"We have been ready for eighteen years, honey." And with that we walked through the portal and back to my room. My parents immediately looked outside the window and straight at the moon.

"Oh, I've missed the sky." My mother admitted as my father went to hold her. Edward and I mirrored there movements as we stood still, watching the moon slowly fall through the sky. We must have been gone for around two hours.

"Bella?" Edward asked softly and pressed his head in my hair again.

"Yes Edward?" I said turning to look at him, his handsome features enticing me as ever. He seemed serious and deep in thought as his hand slowly made its way towards his military style jacket's inner pocket. I tried to make sense of what he was doing but I decided to just let things unfold.

"I've been meaning to ask you something and I believe that now is as good a time as ever so…" I waited for him to finish his sentence when the wind shifted and a new scent came through the window. I felt like jumping down said window and landing on my head on purpose.

Of all the scents in the world, it simply had to be the scent of unknown vampires. He had caught it too as he stopped speaking and looked out the window confused. I turned to my parents for an answer. My mother was covering her eyes with her right hand in an exasperated movement, while my father looked enraged beyond words.

I shared a look of utter confusion with Edward as we both tried to make sense of their reaction. It took two simple words from my father to make everything clear to both of us.

"The Volturi."


	22. Confrontations

Hi there everybody… This took a little longer than I thought it would, but dum-dum; a new chapter! So, here's the showdown with the Volturi, at last. Let me thank each and every one of you who reviewed; have I mentioned how much I love you guys? As a small thank you, let me answer some of your questions;

**Jackie;** Here's the battle with the Volturi; enjoy!

**SagaObsessed;** Awwww… Snow day… If only we had more of them down here! As far as the Cullens finding out about Bella's parents breaking out… well read and find out for yourself! ^_^

**Coffeeholic7; **Well, I hope this will be crispy enough for you… Honestly, if it isn't I don't know what I'm going to do :p… Anyways, do enjoy the chapter!

**Frankie;** the wolves and Jacob are finding out well… now! Read and see for yourself! ^_^

**I Won't Go Home Without You;** Edward proposing you said… hmm… ;)

And that's about it I believe… Oh, and just so you know, I hate Jane… You'll see what I mean… (Input evil smirk here). I hope you'll enjoy the chapter and; don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**CONFRONTATIONS**

_I shared a look of utter confusion with Edward as we both tried to make sense of their reaction. It took two simple words from my father to make everything clear to both of us._

"_The Volturi."_

I had heard the saying 'burning with rage' before but, if I had to be honest to myself, I had never truly grasped the feeling until those recent few hours of my life. First during my encounter with Victoria, then with the cursed ones and now with the Volturi; those retched traitors would simply deny to leave us in peace.

I turned to my parents who had just been set free from an eighteen year old malicious imprisonment. All I wanted for them was a few hours of serenity before they would have to face the world again. Was that so much to ask for them? Them who had been suffering for so long?

As if he had read my thoughts, something not improbable since either of us yet understood the depths of our connection, Edward held me tight to his chest and spoke the words I needed to hear;

"We'll get over that nuisance too love and then all this mess will finally be left behind us; I promise." I sighed deeply and closed my eyes trying to rein my anger. I really didn't feel like torching the house.

"All right then." My mother stated, determination evident in each syllable. "This seems to be a night of closures. And as Edward said, facing the Volturi will be the last thing we'll have to do before we put these saddening matters to rest. So…" she turned at my father. If the coldness I saw in his eyes was any foretelling of what was to come, the Volturi would be nothing but a ghastly memory in just a few short hours. That, I must admit, combined with the sly grin on Edward's face, lifted my spirits a little.

"So, we'll deal with them as we would deal with any other threat posed to our family and, by process of elimination, we'll be the only ones standing in the end. Now," he said and clapped his hands once "what we have to do first is find out exactly where they are. Bella honey, if you could…"

"No need to say more, dad." I stated and moved towards my mirror, immediately projecting their location on the reflecting surface. They apparently were in the same clearing in which we had, only hours ago, faced Victoria and her newborns. What was with everyone's obsession with that field?

Though the only faces I could recognize amongst the Volturi guard were those of the three vampires I had knocked unconscious exactly a week ago, I could tell who the leaders were; they were standing in the middle of their guard, dressed in cloaks of a shade of the deepest black. Still, I couldn't bring myself to focus on them or on any other member of the sentinel for that matter. I couldn't even make out what they were saying, all the sounds being reduced to a buzzing hum. My body felt numb and all my attention was claimed by those standing across them.

My vampire family was there and so where the wolves. I gasped in horror as I felt Edward going rigid beside me. How? What were they doing there? I let the scene play on the mirror as I turned to my parents. Their eyes, which I had expected to be wide with surprise as were mine, had narrowed into slits. Instead of being scared I oddly found myself pleased by their reaction; if there was ever one, now there was no escape for the Volturi.

"We have to move fast." My father spoke first, breaking the silence. "Do you know were this clearing is or should we follow their scent?"

"We know where it is. It's the same one in which we ended Victoria's army tonight." Edward's voice came out dark and I took his hand in mine trying to reassure him as he had done countless times for me. He tightened his hold on my hand as my mother advanced to the open window of my bedroom.

"What are we waiting for then?" She asked turning back to us just before she leaped out. "Our family is out there." At her words Edward turned wide eyed to meet her gaze. She smiled kindly. She smiled the smile she had until now only reserved for me and I found myself feeling blissful besides the predicament we were facing; we finally were the family we should have always been. She spoke again, her voice as soft as the sea breeze; "Son, your family is our family and, in case you haven't noticed, we take family matters quite seriously." Edward smiled gratefully at her as she jumped.

"Your mother is right, as always." My father said both to me and Edward, before we followed my mother's example. Once we landed he turned to us once more. "Bella, now that we're out of our prison, the connection we shared is severed." Then addressing both of us he continued; "In other words, if we'll need to talk to you amidst the fight, we'll have to enter either your minds the old fashioned way. There will be no reason to be afraid this time since no other god or goddess is in the area." Edward and I both nodded in understanding.

"Then lead the way." My mother offered as we walked ahead of my parents towards the woods. With one final look at each other and allowing our mind connection to come forth, we broke into a wild sprint, swiftly covering the distance between us and the rest of our family. I soon felt a tagging in my mind and I understood so did Edward. Both letting our defenses down allowed my, and in a way, our parents to speak.

"_So, how do you want to do this?"_ My father asked as he lithely avoided the trees and rocks of the forest. _"Sprint in there and attack them full front, taking them down before they know what hit them…"_

"…_or toying with them a little before we strike?"_ My mother finished my father's thoughts. There was no question in either our minds; they wouldn't have the easy way out.

"_Toy with them."_ We both thought in unison and suddenly my mind reeled back to the way Edward and I confronted Victoria. Easily catching to my reflections and with a baleful glint coloring his thoughts, Edward narrated Victoria's final moments to my parents in a few sort sentences and, by the time we reached the outskirts of the clearing, a plan had been formed. I was to walk in the clearing pretending to be human and they would wait for me to draw their attention. At that part, the plan deviated a little -well, actually, a lot- from what we had done to Victoria. Oh, I just couldn't wait!

I dimmed my glowing form and turned my eyes brown as my parents and Edward made the final arrangements; the wind started blowing from the opposite direction from where we stood and clouds started gathering above us. But not just regular clouds; anyone in the know could tell they were tainted with the unmistakable black that was darkness. I guess my father was just _that_ much enraged.

I turned my attention back to the clearing; I couldn't really see the ones gathered since we were still about a quarter of a mile away and behind the many, thus sight incarcerating trees, but I could hear them perfectly. Carlisle was addressing one of the leaders, asking him why they had chosen to come and attack them. He wanted to know what their crime was. I read his mind and saw he was just trying to gain some time, hoping me or Edward would somehow manage to help them. I tensed but instantly calmed myself, thinking that at least all of them were unharmed, as I waited for the moment my appearance would make the greatest impact.

"My dear Carlisle, I'm so sorry it all came down to this." The voice that had spoken these words was jovial and completely out of the concept of a forthcoming battle. "But, my old friend, it is impossible to oversee what is happening here."

"And what would that be?" Carlisle questioned him again.

"More than one things have gone amiss I'm afraid. For one, as it has come to our attention by your friends of the Denali clan, that stand as witnesses here today, you have revealed our existence to a human girl with no apparent desire of ever turning her." Denali clan? I tried to take in all the flavors the wind brought our way and sure enough I could tell there were other groups of vampires in the field besides my family and the Volturi.

"_The Denali's have been friends with my family for quite some time now."_ Edward informed us. _"They hunt animals too. But what are they doing here?"_

"_It is a habit of the Volturi to allow witnesses to their so called trials. To boast and intimidate more than anything."_ My father explained and I felt sick to my core; when ending the lives of those that opposed them these monsters actually wanted an audience.

"And as if that wasn't enough," Aro continued in the same pleasant tone "you have befriended a pack of wolves, of shape shifters, a pack of our enemies. Can you deny any of those accusations?" His words were met with silence and I sensed it was almost time for me to intervene.

"_Remember honey, when the time comes, the best way to make them afraid of you would be causing them to see just how unafraid of them you are and how much weaker they truly are from you."_ My mother advised me. I was about to tell her that part had actually come natural to me before when my father intervened.

"_Then again you could just show up and let them run over each other as they try to escape."_ I had to control my urge to laugh at that mental picture and, failing miserably, hid my face in Edward's chest, only to find him shaking from the laughter he couldn't let out. I breathed in soundlessly and steadied myself enough so I could finally confront the last remaining enemies of my family.

"_I believe it would be better if I showed up now; are you ready for this?"_ They really didn't have to speak. I nodded and with a final smile to my parents and a brief kiss with Edward I turned around and walked towards the field. The one Carlisle had called Aro was speaking once again;

"As everyone can see, you have nothing to say in your favor! If that would be all I believe it's time to…"

"Stop!" I practically screamed as I stepped into the clearing, trying to look innocent, scared and, above all, human. Immediately all eyes, vampire and wolf alike, were on me. Inwardly I smiled, feeling the same exhilaration I had experienced when I was about to attack Victoria; let the games begin. I had come out the forest right next to my vampire family and the wolves while across the Volturi and their, for luck of better words, witnesses.

The wolves howled and through their muddled thoughts I could hear and feel their want to shield me from the peril I had seemingly brought upon myself. Hopefully, after everything, they would find it in them to forgive me. I turned my attention back to the vampires; from what I could see, besides the guard, there were about two, maybe two and a half dozens of vampires around. I tried to ignore the looks I was receiving from the male population along with the deep growl that echoed in my mind, courtesy of Edward.

At least I knew that, taken from my appearance as they were, they were unlikely to question how I had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The wolves would be too worried for my life to care, and my vampire family already knew.

So, I focused on the traitor leaders of the Volturi; one had deep black hair, while the other two were ash blonds. All three had red clouded eyes, evidence of their treason, while their skin appeared to be paper thin and almost fragile to the softest touch; I momentarily wondered if all I had to destroy them was merely lay a hand on them. Two of them were staring at me like the other members of their species, while one of the ash blonds seemed rather lost between interest and boredom.

"And who might you be?" The black haired one asked with what I assumed -well, with what _he_ assumed- to be an inviting smile; it took all my will not to attack him right then. Besides my repulsion, I immediately recognized his annoyingly jovial voice; Aro. Never letting my frightened façade slip, I introduced myself;

"My name is Bella." I said, my voice slightly breaking. I noticed my vampire family was observing me, each of them trying to comprehend were I was going with my act. Since Aro didn't recognize who I was, my theory of him not having touched any member of my family was confirmed; if he had read their thoughts and recognized me as a goddess, it would be unlikely he would be still standing here. I venture he would have been half way over the Atlantic ocean by now.

"So you are Bella." Aro said his face showing understanding. "And I can finally all this upheaval about you." In his mind my appearance made everything obvious. He was already planning adding me to his precious guard, offering me a place above the rest of his servants. I tried to ignore where his thoughts leaded him and this time my father's growl was added to Edward's in my thoughts. Counting on my mother to keep them in check, I continued;

"Upheaval?" I made my voice sound as minute as possible allowing him to think he had the upper hand.

"But yes, my dear; you see the main reason we have gathered here is because you have come to know of our existence. Now, while there aren't many laws in our society, we are very harsh on one subject; never make our existence known." He was talking to me like I was a child, but that wasn't what angered me the most; his thoughts were very clear as to the true reason of their assembling.

It seemed that he had always been afraid by my vampire family's increasing numbers and, after my attack to his guard, he came to believe a goddess was helping them too. He was afraid Carlisle might want to overthrow them and take their place as ruler. Stupid as it was, such are always the fears of a dictator. And in his seek for power he had caused so much harm to my family… His funeral, I guess.

"But who am I going to tell? Who would believe me?" I kept my acting up, sounding desperate, my voice getting higher. Just a little longer, I reminded myself.

"The point, my lady, is not who would believe you; it's the fact you have been told." One of the blonds offered.

"My brother Caius is right." Aro pointed out, seemingly confirming the previous statement. So, the one that in the beginning looked half bored to death must be Marcus. "And it's not just you my dear; don't forget the wolves over here." He added and pointed at the pack, his gesture being accepted with a wave of menacing growls. "They sided with a pack of wolves that murdered the mate of one of the people they called friends." To that he motioned backwards, to a group of vampires with golden colored eyes. A female one that couldn't have been older than twenty when she was changed moved forward.

"Those dogs killed Laurent!" She yelled pointing at the pack. "They had no right! He had just come to visit the Cullens and instead those mongrels…" She looked positively mad at than point as she screamed, teeth bared, hair astray. "And now you…" she added pointing at my family this time "…you stand by them as if nothing has happened! You were supposed to be our friends!" The rest of the Denali clan simply looked at the Cullens bleakly, a silent blaming emanating from their very stances.

"And," Aro added before I could manage to speak "they also sided with the wolves to end yet another group of vampires, barely hours ago, in this very field; you can still smell the ash." He seamed pleased with himself as a murmur spread amongst his, since now, silent audience. Wanted nothing more than to wipe that cocky smile from his face, I found it necessary to counter his accusations one by one. I decided it would be better to address the female from the Denali clan first, the one Laurent had called Irina.

"If I may speak?" To that, Aro, whose eyes had never left my face as soon as he had finished his speech, raised his hand, motioning for the commotion to stop.

"You may, dear one." Jane snarled from behind; I guess she didn't like Aro calling me his 'dear one'. Given the fact that I hated being called that, from him at least, I almost laughed at her reaction. Almost. I turned to Irina;

"So you say Laurent was your mate?" She snarled at me, probably for using his name, but nodded affirmative. "Then are you Irina?" Her eyes, along with the eyes of the rest of her clan, widened. The Volturi, the previously impassive Marcus included, just seemed even more intrigued.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, not knowing what to expect.

"From Laurent." I simply stated, faking a tremble. Her eyes widened even more than before, but this time with anger.

"And how could he have told you? Aro said he was killed the moment he got here!" So that's how they had found out about Laurent's death. Did the Volturi have eyes everywhere? Well this was about to change.

"That's not what happened!" I protested, willing water to manifest near my eyes, giving the impression I was actually crying. To my surprise, the Volturi, and many other males around, seemed distressed from that fact. "That's not what happened at all!" I screamed the last part, 'tears' now running freely down my face.

"Please dear, calm yourself." Aro asked of me. If I could at this moment bang my head on a tree or something, believe me, I would.

"But, didn't you know? The wolves were protecting _me_ when Laurent was killed!" That brought about another round of whispers.

"_Nice performance love."_ Edward commented somewhat enjoying the show.

"_My aim is to please." _A low growl emitted from somewhere deep inside his chest and I mentally noted I really liked its sound and should make sure it would soon be recreated. 

"Protecting you? From whom?" Irina asked, not wanting to face what I'm sure she understood.

"Laurent was trying to get to me; he said he wanted to turn me. That it was time he got himself a mate. He said…" I knew this was probably going to break her heart, but I could see no other way around it. "He said that if he could have me he didn't need Irina." She gasped, looking at me accusingly, not wanting to deem what I was saying even as a possibility. "That's how I know your name." I didn't need to tell her he never spoke the very words aloud; it wasn't time to go all mind reader on them yet.

"How dare you?" She asked and I looked at her seemingly still in tears.

"It's not a matter of dare; it's plainly what happened. The wolves came right on the time he was going to change me. And if you must know, he had never come to meet the Cullens; his original purpose was to track me down and kill me." I shrugged faking yet another tremble of fear as the wolves growled encouragingly beside me, still not approaching me, in fear that would cause the Volturi to attack me. Jacob was tormenting himself by constantly wondering why I ever showed up. "I never found out why he changed his mind."

"Liar!" She screamed and got ready to charge at me, only to be stopped by a strawberry blond female next to her. For a strange reason, really strange given the fact she was actually helping me, I couldn't help but to dislike her. I could swear Edward chuckled in my thoughts, but I didn't pursue the point further as Aro spoke again.

"His main object was to kill you, you say? But why?" Ah, and now it's time for his third indictment to crumble.

"Because of Victoria; last year, a vampire called James tried to kill me. Edward…" I stopped again since I was supposed to still be unable to say his name out loud, "…Edward killed James, without knowing he was Victoria's mate. Laurent was travelling with them at the time. Victoria swore vengeance and contacted Laurent so they could hunt me down together; a mate for a mate. After he died," another growl from Irina accompanied my words "Victoria gathered a newborn army to get past the wolves and finish the job. By then the Cullens had returned, so the numbers of her army rose exponentially. That is the group of vampires that were killed today; if the Cullens hadn't sided with the wolves we would all be dead by now." At the end of my explanation the whispers had increased and Aro had to intervene once again to regain order.

"Is that so, my dear?" His countenance was sweet, but his smile had gone cold; he was trying to intimidate me. Huh!

"Yes. And that leaves just one thing unanswered I believe; you said that the Cullens were accused for telling me what they are and I told you I'm just one person. Still, if you feel intimidated…" I turned to look at my vampire family, a new wave of 'tears' falling from my eyes. "…if you believe me to be a threat, take me. Let them go and take me!" The wolves started howling at my words and Jacob bared his teeth growling menacingly at Aro, as if he was challenging him to try. Aro seemed… overjoyed. If anything else, he had already planned to turn me, but having me offer myself to him made things much more enjoyable for him. His two brothers seemed to have the same opinion.

"How could any man resist when you're offering yourself so willingly my Bella?" Aro said, his voice leaving a sticky trail in the blowing forest air, tainting it.

"_Your Bella?"_ Edward's voice rippled in my mind, seconded by my father's.

"_Mom, tell them to wait!"_

"_I'm all over it honey."_ My mother reassured me and, true to her word, neither my overprotective father, nor the equally, if not more, overprotective love of my life showed up to tear Aro apart.

"Our brother is right of course." Marcus spoke for the firs time, his voice a deeper pitch from his brother's but of the same sickening syrupy quality. "You will be the crown jewel in our guard, fair Bella. And we have no plans of ever letting you go." So they had believed in Edward's supposed absence. And what was that part about keeping me forever? Yeah, right.

"And the Cullens and the wolves walk free?" I asked, my voice nothing more than a whisper.

"I'm afraid the answer to your question is no." Aro stated, not seeming to care he was practically giving the order to execute fourteen people, including Carlisle that he had proclaimed as a 'friend'. Any moment now…

"But… but why?" I said ducking my face so they couldn't see my eyes. "If I'm out of the way, what could they possibly…" I left my voice trail, seemingly too distressed to keep talking. Inside I was shaking with anticipation.

"My dearest, innocent Bella!" Aro exclaimed as I prepared myself for the attack. "We have more important matters to think of; our leadership would have already been compromised if we weren't strict. I'm sure in time you'll come to see things our way. So, Alec, if you wouldn't mind…" Aro turned to address a vampire in his guard, seemingly only a child, to move forth.

Alec smiled sweetly and even though I couldn't see it, I felt a variation of darkness creep slowly towards my family and friends; it wasn't as powerful as the fog I was trapped in but it left a numbing feeling on my essence as it crawled reaching its target. When they were all engulfed in the mist I was sure beyond any doubt that they were all rendered immobile. Alec turned to Aro, who was immensely pleased with him, and then gave a sly smile to Jane. I was past all reason.

"_Now?"_ I asked all three in waiting. My elation once I received their uniformed answer was so overwhelming, I had to restrain myself from attacking immediately; since there was an audience already, we should use them to our benefit.

"_Now!"_

"Your leadership?" I asked, my voice trembling no more. Instead, I had let it return to its normal, if presently colder than ice, crystal tone. I was still facing downwards so I couldn't see their expressions, but I could feel everyone -including my vampire family who could sense what was to come- had frozen to their places. Perfect. "Your leadership you said?" This time I sounded right down menacing.

And then, not rally knowing why I thought it the best thing to do, I laughed; I have to admit, there was nothing remotely funny about it. I could hardly believe I produced such a cold, soulless excuse for a laughter, but having witnessed my mother, my caring for everyone mother, looking right down frightening, I slowly came to terms with the fact that I was sounding, well, mad.

My laughter was brought to an end as swiftly as it came and I raised my head to look straightly at them. The moment our eyes connected they gasped and took a few steps back. And not just them; the vampires behind them turned rigid, most of them not having a clue as to what was happening. I turned to face my wolf friends; they were stunned too. I couldn't blame them, not really; my eyes were gold again. I sat straight looking at the Volturi imperiously as I let my body aglow once more.

"Your leadership?" I questioned them once more. No answer. "Why, I believe I rendered you speechless haven't I?" Still no response; I giggled humorlessly. "But then again, I'm probably the last person you expected to see, aren't I?"

"But you… your highness…" Aro began. I snarled at him and he thought better to stop.

"So now I'm 'highness'? When you betrayed my parents in sake of power you seemed to forget that little fact. And when your information sent the cursed gods on me and my family, you seemingly had also forgotten!" I wasn't yelling, but my voice was strong enough to prevent anyone from moving, talking and, with the exception of the wolves, even breathing. "My parents were imprisoned because of you and I was almost killed. _Almost_, to your greatest misfortune. But before anything…" I said and stared at Alec. "…before everything, I have a score to settle." My parents knew what was coming and so did Edward; I waited for them to say something to make me stop. However, all I got from them was encouragement, so I continued. "Do you enjoy what you do Alec?" Only fear reflected in his eyes.

"I… you see, I…" I scoffed at his inability to speak, allowing rage to control me; he had taken far too many lives for me to care about him. He had done enough.

"Don't even try; I can see you do. I can practically taste the bloodlust oozing from every pore in your body. Isn't killing them enough? Do you feel you have to torture them first? Well, allow me then…" I said, looking at him frostily despite the fire that raged in my chest, "…allow me to show you just how it feels like to be hopeless when facing your end." Images of how I was, lost in the fog, flooded my mind just before I realized something that doubled my wrath; his control over darkness wasn't complete. His victims would actually know and feel they were about to die, spending their last moments on this earth in a state of utter terror.

With a growl I didn't know I could produce, I lifted my hand and a wave of dark red flames erupted to hit Alec straight on the chest. And he screamed. I kept the flames on, not strong enough to scorch him, but with heat enough o hurt him. I let the fire die down; his clothes on his torso were gone and a brownish burn spread on his chest. He tried to move, as did the rest of the guard, only to find it impossible; for, while I attacked Alec, I had tied their feet to the ground, forcing them to fall in the mercy of the same fate as their victims. Demetri growled at me while Jane screamed looking at Alec's wound.

"So, tell me; do you enjoy the feeling?" I turned to look at my family who were still bound by Alec's power. After everything, he hadn't let them go. "You still hold them captive?" I roared, making all the vampires in the background recoil with fright. "After tasting your own medicine?" I saw him turning to the Volturi brothers, waiting for their orders. "Ignore those three; let the Cullens and the wolves go; release them and you shall walk free." Despite him being a murderer, I didn't have it in me to kill him like that; wouldn't that turn me into my enemies? The very ones I hated so much? His eyes hardened as he stared at me;

"Anyone who opposes the Volturi must die! You will not order me around!" Was he that much deceived? And with that, though he couldn't move his limbs, he forced his power to get a tighter grip around my vampire family; their eyes hazed over and he smiled.

"I see…" Was all I could mutter; Alec was too far gone for me to retrieve any innocence left in him. He had become a cold minded killer, a weapon ready to blindly follow orders. If he were to walk away he would keep killing in a blood frenzy having lost his masters; his cold unfeeling eyes and his thoughts of murder stood witnesses to that. I cursed the Volturi once more in my head and, lending strength from Edward, lifted my hand once again.

For the first time since I became a goddess I felt the weight of my inheritance heavy on my soul. I sighed and reminded myself I had people to protect; people I knew and loved, like my family. People I would meet and come to care for in the future. And people I would never know. I had to protect them all. Flames danced on my palm once more and flew forward, this time scorching with unfathomable heat, striking Alec and swiftly bringing his end. Jane screamed in anguish as I sensed my family being relinquished from Alec's grip; no one from the guard moved. I felt oddly empty, not guilty and not in remorse, just a bit numb. Then I heard it; Edward was humming my lullaby, his voice echoing inside my head, soothing me as nothing else could.

"_Thank you Edward." _If only I could hold him right now…

"_You did what you had to do love; he was already lost. Don't blame yourself for his demise. It was all their doing." _He thought of the Volturi with anger matching my own, bringing me back to reality.

"Now do you see what you have brought on yourselves?" I truly and deeply hoped they did.

"But the cursed ones…" Caius tried to defend himself, seemingly not caring at all for the thin ashes a few feet away from him that were up to seconds ago one of his guards. And besides what was he going to say? That he was forced to obey? I knew that wasn't the case.

"Silence!" The ground quaked at the sound of my voice. "How dare you? How dare you try to sway my resolution when I just witnessed your conceit first hand? After I dealt with the members of your pitiful guard in Brazil and yes, that was me," I added after I heard Felix gasp, "you seemed convinced that Carlisle would overthrow you right? You even called him your friend and then practically ordered his execution! And honestly," I continued giggling again "Carlisle overthrowing you? He is far too great a man to follow your footsteps! And as if that wasn't enough, you have led the vampires in a road of useless bloodshed, forcing them to practically live like savages, cut from the rest of the world. I pity you."

"You can't be alive!" Aro screamed at me, desperate to cling onto something. "The cursed ones promised us…"

"The cursed ones promised you? Do you honestly think they would honor their word? They promised us the war was to put on hold and look what happened!" I sighed and waved my hand dismissively. "But I refuse to get reeled up on that account; it's not like they'll be causing any more trouble…" At that the Volturi looked terrified; their last hope had just sunk. "Oh did I fail to mention it?" I asked faking regret. "They're gone. For good. Your on your own now, I'm afraid. And to make things worse for you, you simply had to go and threaten my family twice."

"We didn't…" Caius stuttered again.

"Yes you did!" The ground rumbled again with my rage. "Have you yet to learn never to stop a goddess when she speaks?" They looked terrified and for a moment the silence in the clearing was absolute. "Tonight, mere minutes ago, you threatened to kill the Cullens and the Quileute wolves, even though you had no true reason but your own insecurities to do so. So, as I said, you threatened my family once more. And it's not only me you've enraged, oh no. As if angering the princess of the gods wasn't enough. There are some people present that wish to talk to you."

I finished my little introduction and sure enough I felt my parents moving; a lightning bolt crushed right next to me and, once the light dispersed my father was on my right side holding my shoulder. Then from the forest behind us rose a pack of ravens; first there were twenty in the most, but they just kept going. Soon they were close to two or three hundred and once they soared up high enough for everyone to see, hiding the sky behind black wings in the process, flew in blinding speed towards a position on my left. Soon they all disappeared and my mother stood defiantly next to me, her hand on my left shoulder. I know we had agreed on a stunning entrance but would definitely have to ask her how she did that later.

"If it isn't the Volturi." My father spoke in the same frozen tone he had used with the cursed ones.

"King Ouranos, Queen Gaia, we can explain…" Aro spoke again; he never learns does he?

"I believe my daughter has cautioned the inanity of interrupting a god when he speaks." My mother reminded him, her crystal voice as impassive as possible.

"Now, what are we to do with you?" My father questioned. "You have been one of the main reasons of our imprisonment, your treason giving the cursed ones the information they needed. They have been already taken care of earlier tonight. You are the only loose end left. And you had the stupidity to show up here tonight, the very same day we were freed."

"Yes, very silly of you indeed." My mother agreed. "And on top of that you had to go threatening our family once more." Hearing my mother speaking these words caused my vampire family to further widen their already surprised, since the appearance of my parents, eyes. "So, you now have four very angry gods at your hands."

"Four?" Caius inquired.

"But yes, four." My father explained with a grin. "We wouldn't be standing here tonight if we weren't blessed with such a wonderful daughter and such a great son. And I believe he has stayed in the shadows for too long." I felt Edward growing mischievous and as a result, wasn't overly surprised by his next move; not surprised, but dazzled nonetheless.

An enormous wall of scorching flames rose around the vampires and wolves, completely encircling the clearing, not burning a leaf outside it. Now everyone was trapped inside. And sure enough, Edward walked slowly through the flames, calm and with a wicked smile on his face, coming to stand next to my father.

"Show off!" I teased him in my mind.

"Hey! You got to have your fun!" He protested playfully.

"Edward?" Surprisingly it was the strawberry blond vampire that had spoken. I read her thoughts unable to stop myself; I cringed. I was right in my first estimation; I didn't like her one bit. Her thoughts about Edward couldn't be more x-rated.

"Yes, Tanya, it's me alright." He said, his smile never leaving his face.

"You see," my father explained "Edward is our daughter's soul mate, thus his recent changes." Beat that one Tanya! Okay, that was immature.

"And if I might just add," Edward began his gaze turning to Aro who froze in place "it's safe to say that I'm not pleased with not only your desire to imprison or kill my family, but your views as far as Bella is concerned too. You aren't even worthy to speak her name let alone think of her like that." The flames around us grew even higher, the wall getting thicker and more vibrant, fed by his rage, and the Volturi shrunk in the center of the field.

In the fierce light of the flames I could see each and every expression their faces took, varying from fear to terror. And then the unexpected happened; Jane, the one I had thrown unconscious when she attacked Alice, moved forward and turned her gaze towards Esme, the want for revenge for Alec obvious in her crazed eyes. She had to be completely deranged, for, with a snarl, she tried to submit her to the same torture she had put Alice through. And I've had enough of her.

Barely considering it at all, the moment I heard Esme scream, I brought my hands forward as great bright red flames erupted from my hands; they circled Jane and before she even had the chance to scream, her life was over. I was a little startled from what I had done but, once again, I couldn't bring myself to regret it.

"_Are you all right love?"_ Edward asked me, concern filling his thoughts, witnessing the second deadly assault from my part against the guard.

"_I believe I am. Nobody touches my family."_ And it was the truth, simple as that. After the flames died down, the Volturi looked at me more than shocked having lost yet another member.

"Nobody touches my family." I said out loud this time. To my surprise the wolves howled encouragingly from what I could tell. I turned to my parents and they nodded in understanding. I could see fire blazing still on my mother's hands and I realized I had barely beaten her to the punch.

"Anyone else who wishes to do something equally idiotic?" My father asked bleakly. There was no movement between their ranks. I really wasn't surprised, especially given the fact that Jane's ashes still danced with the wind. "No, I didn't think anyone would." My father concluded, putting my thoughts into words.

"As for the three of you…" My mother began looking at the three brothers "Well, we have thought of killing you, but that wouldn't really suffice."

"So we came up with a different plan." My father motioned upwards to the skies and the winds he had summoned and, for the first time, the Volturi noticed the blackness of the dark power fused with the gray rain clouds. "Don't you realize what stirs in the heavens above us?" They looked terrified but otherwise ignorant. "I guess not." My father put in sardonically. "In that case, let me acquaint you with the power of darkness. And show you what it can do while we're at it." Was he implying what I thought he did?

And sure enough, he raised both hands upwards; the darkness gathered there spiraled and twisted, slowly making its way downwards looming above the Volturi guard. Edward came beside me and grabbed hold of my hand as we waited for the fate of our last enemies to unravel. Suddenly, my father brought his hands forward and the black mass fell upon the three leaders, never making a sound.

I had half expected an explosion, a power surge, something profligate; yet the actual doings of the dark seemed to me much more frightening in their absolute silence. The guard stepped away in a haste, not really managing to move very far, afraid to approach the flames. I just watched mesmerized; I knew what was happening to the Volturi. They were about to suffer the same fate I would have faced were it not for Edward. They would remain trapped in their minds forever with no hope of ever resurfacing. Tried as I might, I couldn't find it in me to feel sorry for them. I only felt a sort of calm wash over me as I watched, feeling it was finally over.

Once the darkness subsided I saw what had remained of the Volturi leaders; the three stood there as if nothing had happened. Yet they didn't move a muscle under everyone's scrutiny; they stood there emotionless and hollow, a glazed expression over their milky eyes. My father turned around and opened the all familiar portal to the Underworld, while my mother, borrowing a leaf from my book, used some vines to lead the bodies that used to be Aro, Marcus and Caius through the doorway; the path was closed behind them and I doubted if it was ever to be reopened. At least the Underworld would serve as the prison for the right people this time.

After all was over and done, my father turned to the remaining vampires of the clearing in a strong commanding voice, assuming his role as their leader he was forced to abandon years ago;

"Such is the end of dictators and traitors; filthy creatures from whom you have all been deceived. You have been led to believe human blood is the correct way to sustain yourselves for eons now. Because of this you have been forced to a semi-savage life, secluded by the world, never finding a place you could call home. We however don't stand here today with the purpose to dictate your lives." He looked around making sure he was being watched by all; like they could help staring… "I will not force you into converting your lifestyle. Just know this; the main rule the Volturi had was to never make your nature known. While this still stands, now that we are back in rule, the weight will be sifted to maintaining the peace we have paid dearly for. We have been imprisoned for years because we sought to maintain that precarious peace and now that all our enemies are behind us we seek to stabilize it. As a result, we are not going to allow killings of innocent people. So we will not force you to change, but consider this a warning; if you wish to continue with these killings be prepared to live as outcasts, chased vagabonds, hiding in the shadows of the world. Consider yourselves warned." Silence met his words but many nodded affirmative; I chose to take this as a good sign.

"Very well." My mother said observing their reactions. "You may go now; spread the word that the leaders of their gods have returned. Edward if you please…" Edward grinned slyly and snapped his fingers, effectively extinguishing the flaming wheel around the clearing. I couldn't resist smiling at his playfulness. Slowly but steadily, the witnesses left alone or in small groups, their thoughts much different than when they came. The only ones now left in the clearing were the wolves, the Cullens and the Denali's, the last not really knowing what to do.

"You may wait us at our house." Edward said dismissing them politely. "There are still some family matters that need to be taken care of." Nodding, they too left the field. I turned back to my family; explanation time. I cautiously approached the wolves.

"Ehm, hi guys. You know this would be much easier if you morphed back." They nodded in perfect unison again and they left for the woods. I then turned to my vampire family. They all looked surprised, Emmet grinning like a maniac besides everything. I decided it was high time for formal introductions. Right on queue, the wolves reemerged from the forest taking small insecure steps towards were we were standing. My mother, noticing their hesitation, smiled sweetly and addressed them;

"Oh come on! We won't bite you know…"

"And I promise to keep Edward or Bella from reducing you to ashes, we promise."

"Dad!" I whined to their playful reaction, not feeling insulted one bit. Edward simply chuckled and I soon joined him, unable to contain my happiness any longer.

"Anyways, do come here." My mother added and finally the pack moved closer. She turned and addressed everyone this time. "Though I realize we meet under the oddest circumstances, I'm Gaia."

"And I'm, Ouranos." My father picked up from my mother. "And as you have heard we are gods and Bella's real parents." He had a prideful smile on his face as he made the last statement that was almost infective; I still couldn't believe they were really here beside me.

"So you're, like, the leaders of the gods?" Sam asked for all of the pack. With a delight I perceived there was no judgmental feeling or expression of reproach etched on their facial features, no hostility in their thoughts and feelings. Just curiosity and some respect meddled with care towards me and some mixed feelings towards Edward. And of course surprise.

"And why are you claiming to be Bella's real parents? What do you mean with _real_ parents anyways? What about Charlie and Renee?" That was Jacob.

"And what was that whole showdown with the Volturi?" Asked Alice. "And what happened to them?"

"That was so cool by the way!" Interjected Emmet.

"And, pardon me asking, but weren't you imprisoned? How comes you're free?" Inquired Carlisle.

"And wasn't Edward a vampire too?" Questioned Embry. "If he is, were did that firewall come from?"

"That was cool too!" Piped Emmet once again. Oh my… I looked fleetingly at my parents and then locked eyes with Edward; it seemed that the flood of questions was never going to end. And in truth, the questions kept pouring down on us while I stared in space trying to find a way to answer all of them. My father, who still seemed highly amused by all this, raised his hand to stop them; between Edward and me I don't know which one was more surprised by the fact that it actually worked.

"It will be better if we caught the story from the beginning wouldn't you agree?" I sighed in relief as my mother took the burden of explaining everything that had occurred eighteen years ago, mainly for the sake of the wolves; the battle in Forks, their imprisonment, the cursed ones, everything. Then she went on explaining how I got my powers, thoughtfully leaving out all personal details, my vision for the attack in Brazil as well as Edward's turning into a god and the reason behind it -I noticed Jacob squirming a little at the notion.

"I'm not sure what occurred exactly after that, not until tonight at least, since we had lost contact with Bella. Honey if you would like to pick up from here?" I nodded and narrated to my parents and the wolves how Edward and I had visions of Victoria, the battle and how she truly came to meet her demise, our short trip to the Underworld and our battle with the cursed gods all the way to how we found out the Volturi were near and what had actually become of them.

"So now their all trapped in that Underworld place?" Rose asked eyes wide.

"Yup!" I stated simply, shrugging it off.

"Uh huh…" Was all her response along with a dazed nod. I let them digest what they had heard as I turned to the wolves;

"And so you know." No response.

"Please bear in mind," Edward said "that Bella wanted to tell you all along, but we simply couldn't risk putting her parents or you in further danger." The wolves were about to intervene, probably to protest, so I spoke first.

"It's not that we didn't trust you, or that we thought you couldn't handle such a secret." I assured them. "But you saw what we can do, I mean, what our race can do." I motioned to the burned land all around us. "The Volturi had their way of collecting information; it would only take one touch by Aro and he would know everything, that was his gift." I swiftly explained them exactly how Aro's power worked. "If he grabbed hold of one of you, even for the slightest second, he would call the cursed ones and they would take charge of the situation; you would have been killed along with your families, my parents would have been moved to another prison or guarded much better and all would have been lost. I couldn't do that to you. It was already dangerous enough to have told six other people about it." The gravity of the situation drew heavy on them as images of what could have been flashed in front of their eyes. I withdrew from their thoughts; it really wasn't pretty.

A second later I focused in the mind of one of them; Jacob. He was thinking about me and Edward at the moment;

"_So are those two really…"_ He trailed of, his hurt leaving a bitter mark on my soul.

"_Yes, Jacob."_ I said projecting my thoughts in his mind. He flinched a little, but otherwise remained still once he recognized my voice.

"_That's new."_

"_Even for me."_ I agreed.

"_So you are together, aren't you?"_ A small hope lingered still in him and I didn't want to take it away. I sighed at the inevitability of it all.

"_Not just together; imprinted, Jake."_ My words hit him like a tone of bricks and I felt his pain clenching my heart. _"I'm so sorry. I wish I could make it easier on you, but I hope you'll understand."_

"_Sure, sure."_

"_Jake…"_

"_No, Bella, I mean it; I have sensed what it means to imprint through the others from the pack. I can't say this isn't hard, cause it is, but I do understand. It's not like you can help it."_

"_Thank you Jacob."_ Was all I could offer him. I sent him all my gratitude and he seemed to cheer up at the slightest.

"_Hey, that's what friends are for, right?"_ I smiled at him.

"_Exactly, Jacob."_ My heart swelled at his words, fully knowing I would have to search very hard to find a friend half as good as him. I left him in his thoughts and turned to face Edward; he had withdrawn from Jacob's mind the moment I spoke to him, leaving me talk to him alone.

"_You__ know how much I love you, don't you?" _I asked.

"_As much as I love you." _I took his hand in mine and turned my attention back to the conversation held in front of us.

"I was wondering," My mother asked Esme "How comes you were all gathered here when the Volturi came? Weren't you separated after the battle with the newborns?" Now that was a great question.

"A few minutes after the battle was over and Bella and Edward had left, I had a vision about the Volturi coming to our house." Alice explained.

"We tried to get hold on you two," Carlisle said pointing at Edward and me "but in retrospect I doubt cell phones work in other worlds, no matter how good the connection." We all chuckled at his words and he continued "Well, all we could do was inform the wolves, who came running. We caught up with the Volturi in this filed completely by accident. They had gathered their witnesses and started out trial, so to speak, when you appeared. Nice acting back there Bella; even I almost fell for it." I laughed humorlessly.

"I sometimes wish I wasn't so good in it."

"Well, there will be no more need of that." My father interjected, the smile never fading from his face. "Now that we're back, things are going to be as they were supposed to; no more human hunting vampires and no more fighting between them and the wolves either."

"We're really not supposed to be enemies?" Sam asked bewildered. "In that case, why did we change when the vampires reappeared?"

"I can explain that." My mother said, gathering all eyes on her. "You didn't change because the vampires reappeared; you changed because you thought they would harm you and your loved ones. It was fear and need for protection that caused your wolf genes to emerge and not the vampires per se; if you remember there were legends of your tribe changing into wolves far before the vampires appeared in your lands." The wolves seemed shocked at that revelation.

"Okay, that's new too." Jacob admitted, breaking the silence, as the rest chuckled slightly.

"So what do you say we all go to our house for a while?" Esme offered. "I could cook something for you too guys." The wolves smiled at her offer.

"I believe we would actually, and surprisingly, like to come, but we have to inform our families of what happened; it is a lot to take in at once." Point taken Sam. "If that's okay with you of course." He said looking at my parents.

"Oh sure." He said waving his hand dismissively. He was doing that a lot, I noticed smiling. "As long as you keep it to humans who already know _you_ exist, it will be just fine." They nodded in understanding and turned to leave.

"Wait a second!" I screamed at their retreating forms. They stopped and turned to look at me. "I just wanted to thank you for everything; if you weren't around things might have turned for the worse."

"Oh, you would have been fine." Seth offered smiling. "I distinctively remember you setting a couple crazed, sadistic vampires aflame only minutes ago." I nodded in disagreement.

"If the cursed ones had found out about me before I got all my powers, I would be a lost, we all would have been; so, believe me when I say, from my heart, thank you. I couldn't ask for better friends." They just smiled at my words when my mother spoke;

"Bella is right; we're at your debt."

"You saved our lives too if you recall." Leah said.

"And besides, that's what we do. And that's what friends do." Jacob added. My smile widened as I bid them goodnight, only after they promised to stop by the Cullens' house tomorrow. After they disappeared on the other side of the clearing, I turned to my vampire family.

"What a night…" Jasper said in disbelief.

"And what a curious way to meet the in-laws." My father commented.

"Curious indeed" my mother agreed as everyone laughed at the way the conversation was headed. I did a back flip at their words; quietly, knowing that Edward wasn't focused on my thoughts at the moment -he had for some reason been secluded to his own thoughts- I, for the first time, wondered how I would feel if Edward and I were married. If this thought had come to me five months ago, I would have been completely adverted by the thought, really not being the girl that got married right after high school as much as I loved Edward. My human parents were a shining example of such a failed marriage, something that had shaped my thoughts and molded them around that decision, even though I neither could nor would never change my mind about the one I loved.

But now, it seemed almost… appealing. Almost like that was the thing that would complete my happiness. I shook myself mentally; I was thinking far too forward. But I couldn't stop the thoughts of Edward as my husband. What was happening to me?

"We'd better get going." Esme offered. "We have some people waiting for us back at home and some more explanations to give."

"Oh joy…" My father said rolling his eyes, making everyone laugh at his antics. My mother linked her hand with his and they slowly moved towards the house. I turned to Edward and offered him my hand to follow their example. To my surprise he didn't take it still staring into space.

"Ehm, could you move ahead without us?" Edward asked softly. I stared at him baffled. "I would like a word with Bella." They all looked surprised except Esme and my mother that simply shared a knowing look and pushed the rest forward, though I'm quite surprised they managed to pull Carlisle, my dad and Emmet -who was especially reluctant to go- away.

After they were out of hearing range Edward, who had been silent all along, avoiding any type of eye contact, looked directly at my eyes. What I found in there took my breath away; passion, want, need, fear, agony, happiness, adoration and most of all, love. My heart swelled at his emotions, its beat sounding like a drum in my ears; I dreaded to think how loud it would sound to him. He began talking and the intensity of his voice held me mesmerized.

"I know this will sound forward, sudden and maybe unwanted. But, for the sake of my mental health, I can't wait any longer." His eyes never left mine and my heart thumped unevenly while my breath went shallow. "I tried in vain to come up with the perfect moment, the perfect things to say, but with our luck I'll settle for a moment with no one attacking us. And trust me when I say I thought many times about how I should do this; fall on my knees, find right the setting, but it truly just requires you and I, doesn't it?" He asked more to himself than me. "Anyways, every second I spend with you is perfect, so in the end, it all comes down to this." He came closer, took my both hands in his left hand and smiled at me with more warmth than ever. "So all I'm going to say is…" He pulled something that dangerously resembled a black velvet ring box from his pocket and popped the lid open. Inside lay the most beautiful diamond ring I had ever seen. It sparkled with the faint moonlight, now that the clouds were lifted from the skies, and promised so many things I'm surprised I didn't set the forest on fire. "All I _can_ say is; will you marry me?"

How lucky I was my body didn't need air to survive since, for all the good in me, I found it impossible to breathe.

"Edward, did you read my thoughts a few minutes back?" I knew he hadn't, and oh, my voice so low, I marveled he managed to hear me, but I just had to make sure. He looked at me surprised, this not being any of the answers he expected.

"Ehm, no?" He offered unsure.

"For all I know you could have." Tears were streaming down my face as I pulled him hard onto me kissing him for dear life. Once we found it in us to stop, he smiled my favorite smile and asked me once more;

"Is that a yes?" What else could it be?

"It's a yes." I stated softly as he placed the ring on my finger, right where I would keep it until the end of time. Even after that if I had a saying on the matter. I looked into his eyes as we kissed again, my heart full of bliss; full of him. As we kissed again I was faintly aware we weren't going to make it to his house for quite some time.


	23. A New Day Is Dawning

Hey everybody! With pride I present you; the final chapter of this story! I would like to thank everyone who reviewed of put my story in their alert or favorites list; really guys I love you! In this chapter I'm pretty much covering a few issues I had left hanging and, maybe, leave an opening for a future sequel. I would once again want to thank you all for your support and remind you that, even though the story is ending, I would still love to see your reviews. Really ^_^!

**Sol Swan Cullen;** and yup, they have to talk to the family… Thanks for reviewing

**Jackie;** Thanks for the review! I'm truly glad you liked the story that much. As for the book, where that's definitely something worth thinking! Again, thank you!

**Kahtilyn 13;** Thanks for the review! And, of course, for noticing all the work I did character wise; I tried not to change the characters or their reactions too much, unless it was needed, since I almost completely altered the storyline and it really took some effort on my part. Bella was the hardest to write, since she went through so many changes in the story and because it was all narrated from her side… By the way, chapter 11 is one of my favorites too… ^_^ Once again thank you for reviewing!

**Tamyyiia;** Yeah, I know; someone should have died in Breaking Dawn. And I've hated Jane since ever, so… Anyways, thanks for your review!

**Coffeeholic7;** Finally, I wrote a chapter crispy enough for you! Yeah! Thanks for the review!

Wow, I can't believe it's over… Anyways, I wrote too much already! Enjoy the last chapter and don't forget to review!

xXDesertRoseXx

**Disclaimer;** I don't own any of the Twilight characters. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**A NEW DAY IS DAWNING**

"_It's a yes." I stated softly as he placed the ring on my finger, right where I would keep it until the end of time. Even after that if I had a saying on the matter. I looked into his eyes as we kissed again, my heart full of bliss; full of him. As we kissed again I was faintly aware we weren't going to make it to his house for quite some time._

The hours passed quite rapidly while we were pleasantly occupied on the forest floor while sporadically in the back of my mind I heard a small voice that reminded me we would be missed. It was good it was such a tiny voice for I repelled it relatively easily, even though I could bet anything that I would have ignored even the cursed ones had they broken free and returned to extract revenge; I simply couldn't concentrate to anything but Edward lately. And, even though I knew we truly had all the time in the world now, I didn't feel any urge to stop being so concentrated on him. And, in all truth, I didn't care to mend my inability of concentration in the least.

About three hours after Edward proposed we were laying down in each others embrace on the tall green grass of the forest staring at the now clear, star filled skies above, through the tree branches. Having made sure no sentient being was anywhere near and feeling carefree for the first time in what seemed to be ages, we had lifted any concealment and the light emanating from our bodies spread a soft luminescence around us. I had the silliest smile on my face but didn't really care at all. Truth be told, it really helped that Edward's face expression mirrored mine.

"So?" He asked taking his gaze from the skies back to me. His lopsided grin was back in place and I had to hold myself back so that we could hold a normal conversation during the next hour.

"So, what?" I asked staring back at his eyes.

"Do you think they might be looking for us?" He asked chuckling lightly, extending his arm to place a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"They might." I stated still unwilling to make a move to stand up and out of his arms.

"And what do you propose we do about that?" He asked again in a slightly amused voice, steadying himself on one elbow as to be able to see me better, his hand cupping my cheek. I leaned into his touch and looked at him feigning surprise, giving him my best shot in radiating innocence by making my eyes look as wide as possible while I asked in a small voice;

"Do we have to do something?" I had expected him to laugh at my antics, roll his eyes in exasperation or something similar. Instead I saw his eyes darken with desire and my ears caught the small rambling sounds coming from the back of his throat and some place deep inside his chest. Once he spoke the words came out deep and husky;

"Love, if you keep looking at me like that I can swear to you, as a matter of fact I _do_ swear it, that we won't move from this spot come what may." And seeing that look in his eyes I couldn't find it in me to move whatsoever. So I did what came naturally; I edged closer and placed a soft yet demanding kiss on his lips, purring with joy as he kissed back.

Soon his body was covering mine and his hands were travelling up and down my body, touching and caressing me, having once again picked up on that rhythm that thrilled me to the core. Just when the rest of the world had started fading to gray once more, a soft pull on my mind brought me, quite unwillingly, to a halt. This time Edward did roll his eyes having felt it too.

"_Mom?"_ I asked in my thoughts sensing her presence tugging my consciousness. I felt the mental equivalent of a relieved sigh as my mother's thoughts chorused in my head.

"_Bella, Edward!"_ She breathed out softly. _"Finally! Your father and I have been looking for the two of you over the last two hours! You have completely blocked us out!"_ I felt a small pang of guilt at her words; thought they all knew we couldn't get hurt my parents had been locked away from me for so many years and Edward's family had just been through an ordeal themselves. Edward shared my feelings and yet either of us could regret the time we had just spent together. He had proposed for crying out loud and, above all, we needed that time alone.

"_We're on our way mom."_ I assured her, Edward nodding in acceptance, rising up to gather his clothes from all around.

"_And do apologize to the rest on our behalf."_ He added.

"_No need to apologize, just hurry up; Ouranos, Carlisle and Emmet are all but organizing a manhunt to search for you. Esme and I are doing our best to hold them back."_ My mother said in a jovial tone as her words started painting an odd mental picture in my head; one that my dad, well _both _my dads, and Emmet came looking for us, finding us in a rather compromising position. Edward who was sharing my thoughts paused for a second to share a panicked glance. He resumed the search for his clothes in double speed.

"_In that case, thank you."_ I mattered before following Edward's example; my jeans were especially difficult to find. With some help from Edward I finally spotted them, relaying in the sense of smell more than anything else -who knew denim had a scent of its own? Before that moment I hadn't really taken the time to notice, what with all the new scents evading my senses- on a tree ten yards from where we stood.

"Now how in the world did they end up there?" I pondered out loud, causing Edward to slightly blush to my great delight. "Oh, I see." I added giggling. He fought back his blush and raised an eyebrow at me.

"At least _I_ didn't tear anything to shreds." He pointed out. It was my time to blush as I looked at what remained of his jacket. "Not that I complain." He added, eyes darkening again. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply trying to maintain my sanity.

"Shouldn't we be going?" I managed to ask in a strained voice. "Anyways, we have some news to brake to them, don't we?" I felt him stiffen at my words and opened my eyes to find him wide-eyed staring at a point towards the house in fright. "What's wrong love?"

"Nothing." He reassured me after a slight pause. "I just figured out I have to tell your parents." I laughed merrily causing his brow to furrow. "I'm glad you're happy for my predicament."

"Predicament? Hardly! My parents will be delighted." I didn't know how I knew it, but I was certain; even if my father had some trouble stomaching the news at first, something told me that, once he thought about it, he would see the inevitability of our marriage. Then it was my time to panic as a thought crossed my mind.

"Changed your mind?" Edward asked in surprise.

"No, I'm really not afraid of my parents' reaction whatsoever." I responded trying to swallow my newfound anxiety.

"Then?" He asked but I couldn't find the words to describe the terror that had grasped me. And in the vice of my terror I had shut down our connection disabling him from knowing what was going on in my mind. "Love you're worrying me! You can tell me anything, you know that." He said in a sweet tone gathering me into his arms.

"As I said I'm not afraid about my parents' reaction but…" I stopped my whispering to look at him straight in the eyes "…But what do you propose we do about Alice?" His eyes widened a bit in surprise once again, clearly not expecting to hear what he had just heard. Then he laughed heartily as I mock slapped his arm. "Not helping Edward; she's going to organize a huge wedding and force me into trying a thousand different wedding gowns and probably, no, not probably, _definitely_ abduct me and fly me to Paris or Milan or wherever in order to try all those gowns and she'll pout and beg and insist to leave you behind and…" At that point Edward stopped my rant by gently placing a finger over my lips.

"Why would she want me to stay behind?" he asked surprised once more.

"Because the groom can't see the wedding dress before the wedding?" I offered eyeing him closely. Nope, he didn't like the idea one bit. "So what do you propose we do?" I repeated taking in his thoughtful stance.

"Elope. I'm thinking Las Vegas and then the Caribbean." He answered. I found no trace of amusement in his voice and, even though I was tempted, truly tempted, to follow him anywhere he might led, I felt I owed it to my parents to see me getting married. Having opened my mind to him again, Edward nodded in agreement, holding me tighter in his arms. A few minutes later we reached a mutual and silent agreement that it was time to head back.

Not wasting any more time we sprinted towards Edward's house, the woods flying by as while we run. We reached the house sooner than I had wanted and, hand in hand, we walked towards the door. I made a move to knock but the door flew open and we found ourselves being pulled inside by a frantic Carlisle and an equally worried Ouranos.

"What took you so long?" My father asked looking at me to make sure I was unharmed. He appeared a little disheveled, his hair wind-swept, as if he had been running his hands through them while he waited. I held my left hand carefully behind my back so he wouldn't see my engagement ring, figuring it would be better to tell them first.

"You had us worrying sick!" Carlisle chorused as he gave Edward a once over, apparently checking for injuries.

"I'm fine dad." Edward assured him in a resigned tone, walking towards the living room. I giggled slightly and, after letting my father know I was fine too, I walked right next to him, still making sure the ring remained hidden from their eyes. The rest of our family was waiting there along with the Denalis who looked somewhat out of place. Alice jumped up and down in joy when she saw us causing Edward and I to tighten our grip on each other.

"There you are." My mother said closing in to hug us in turn, followed by Esme.

"It was about time; what have you been up to?" Esme asked her tone light as she smiled. Many similar questions came from all around the room while I held my hands crossed in front of me, waiting for Edward's signal.

"Excuse me everyone." He said loudly causing them to stop chattering. "Bella and I have an announcement to make." I took a deep breath and disentangled my hands, finally letting the ring in finger show. It was a mater of moments before all eyes in the room focused on the large, sparkling diamond. "We're engaged. We're getting married." His words were met with a stunned silence until;

"Really?" Emmet exclaimed breaking the quiet. At that my mother and Esme, who were right next to us smiled and, sharing another look of silent understanding as they had back in the forest, reached back for another hug.

"I'm so happy for you." My mother whispered at my ear, her voice becoming muffled as tears of joy filled her eyes. "For both of you." She added turning to Edward. Next in line to congratulate us was Esme and then the rest of our family one by one, Emmet smacking Edward hard on the back, hurting his hand in the process. Even the Denalis offered their congratulations, albeit a little numbly in Irina's and Tanya's case. Soon after that they left, insisting this was a family affair; they congratulated us again and Irina apologized, never making eye contact and then they were gone.

The only one left to congratulate us was my father who eyes us carefully from the other side of the room. Then, with a decisive smile, came closer and held me in his arms.

"I had guessed this would happen sooner or later; and though it happened on the sooner side, well, I get it. Congratulations my daughter." He stated, kissed me on the forehead and moved on to hug a very much relieved Edward. "Congratulations son." Edward's response was a bright smile of joy, as Carlisle moved to envelope him in another embrace.

"Oh Bella, I'm so excited!" Alice said bouncing at my side. "We're going to have so much fun planning the wedding!" And her eyes were already large in anticipation; I knew it was going to prove hard to tell her no. Edward pulled me backwards to his chest.

"Alice I warn you; there will be no kidnapping the bride. So if you want to go shopping you'll have to limit yourself to this country. Got it?" He asked in all seriousness and I wholeheartedly agreed. The rest of the room broke into laughter and even though I rejoiced in seeing them all so carefree, the threat called my best friend, aka my overexcited pixie sister and wedding planer still loomed ominous above my head.

"Oh, come on Edward! You're spoiling the fun! Bella can't walk down the isle wearing something off the rack!" Alice protested looking terrified at the prospect.

"You should worry more about yourself than me." I told her as an idea formed in my head.

"Why?" She asked her bouncing pausing for a second.

"Why?" I repeated in mock horror. "Now I wouldn't want my maid of honor to wear something off the rack!" Alice's eyes widened even more as she stopped breathing altogether.

"You mean it?" She shrieked and then jumped to hug me not waiting for an affirmation.

"Of course I do." She pulled back slightly and adopted a thoughtful look.

"And when will the wedding take place?" She asked. Now there's something I hadn't thought about.

"After graduation." Edward offered and I nodded in agreement; it made perfect sense. "Sometime during the summer; July perhaps?" I liked the idea of a summer wedding; an image of white sand came to my mind along with palm trees and sapphire waters. Yeah, I could do a summer wedding alright. I send my imaginary wedding site to Edward who smiled lovingly in return.

"Just Alice, don't invite the whole town, alright?" I asked hopefully and she nodded shaking her head.

"I guess all of us present will come and the wolves." She pondered out loud and I nodded in agreement; so far she was quite reasonable. "Anyone from your side of the family?" To that I turned to my parents.

"Oh, we have our guests alright; a long line of cousins, uncles and aunts." My mother said winking at me. "We just have to make sure to inform Aphrodite quite soon; she's bound to want an active role in the wedding. As a matter of fact we have to inform everyone quite soon; they might want to know we're back and all."

"Aphrodite as in goddess of love Aphrodite?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"Well she always loved to meddle with love affairs even if she technically controls the element of fire." My father explained. Rosalie and all the others still looked shocked. "If you act like that about Aphrodite you should wait until you meet our Egyptian part of the family."

"And why is that?" Jasper asked as I laughed remembering something my father had told me when I was still receiving my powers; it seemed so long ago now. Could it really have happened only a week and a half ago?

"Because they like to go around half transformed into animals; for example Ra usually has the head of an eagle. Of course only on official ceremonies and stuff." My mother stated matter-of-factly. "Only Set didn't, at least not during the last millennia." The silence in the room was complete; the only exception to the rule was Alice who was still pondering.

"That might be a problem, especially if you want to invite your human parents Bella." She said and I gasped; I knew I was forgetting something important.

"I will of course; I just believe that they better never find out I'm not their biological daughter. Are you okay with that?" I asked looking at my parents.

"Of course we are honey." My mother assured me. "They did raise you after all; it's only fair and besides we're thankful for all they did. The only problem is they can't be on both your weddings." To that I blinked, coming up with no answer.

"Both weddings?" Asked Edward for both of us. He looked at me perplexed yet I held no answer for him this time.

"Yes, both weddings; traditionally there is a specific ceremony for marriage between gods. It's not that different from a human wedding and technically a human wedding would be the exact same thing rendering the second ceremony a typicality but," my father said smiling "even if it will be just for typical reasons, you know given our status, it gives me the opportunity to walk my daughter down the isle." To that I could not oppose. So I would marry Edward twice; I could live with that. Alice was ecstatic;

"Two weddings?" She asked bouncing and twirling all around the room. "I get to organize two weddings? I get to organize two weddings!" She turned and gave me another bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank you!" Then she neared my parents who received the same treatment. "And thank you too!" She exclaimed. "Oh, my! Two weddings means two wedding dresses, two maid of honor dresses, two everything! I have so much to do and only four months to do it!" She turned to me again "I'll keep you posted and enlist your help when I need the details for your god-style wedding; now go play with Edward. I'm going to check some wedding magazines I have stored in my room." And with that she left the room and her shocked family in a blare of movements. What had I gotten myself into?

"We like her." My parents said in one voice, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

"And speaking about you and Edward," Carlisle began "where exactly where you during the past three hours?"

"Now that's something I would like to know myself." My father added nodding in agreement. And I thought they had forgotten. Oups.

"Yeah!" Emmet exclaimed. "And didn't Edward used to have a jacket last time I saw him?" Then his eyes widened and a sly grin appeared in his face. "Oh, now I get it…" Next thing he knew he was completely soaked with cold water, a polite gesture from both me and Edward. "That's starting to get so not cool." Emmet muttered as everyone but my dad laughed.

"On second thought I don't want to know." My father resolved, slightly pouting. "And I wish to never talk about that subject again. Ever." That statement only made everyone laugh louder as my father sulked walking next to my mother who patted him on his shoulder; it only made him sulk more since she hadn't stopped laughing at the time.

The rest of the night passed with laughter and I even got around to play a game on Wii against Emmet. After I wan he kept bugging me for a rematch. Alice made some sporadic appearances showing me magazines filled with dresses and flowers; I just nodded from time to time. I had a private conversation with my mother sometime during the night over something that I remembered she had said in the past, noting to share the information with Edward once we were alone.

In the morning light Edward and I temporarily bid our family goodbye, as we had to break the news to Charlie; after his first shock at seeing Edward and an attempt to throw him out of the house, he agreed to sit and hear us out. Knowing he couldn't tell the truth Edward opted on saying that he always loved me and the extent of how strong his feelings were scared him so he decided to go. Most of the rest was the truth; he explained he was miserable while he was away, that he couldn't do anything without thinking of me and that he still loved me. By the time he got around to tell him we were to be engaged the sincerity that rang in each syllable when he spoke of his love for me had placated Charlie enough to agree; his terms, after we explained we would wait until after graduation were going to college -something that I hadn't thought in a while- and tell Renee. She was shocked, but did admit to have expected it.

Afternoon found us near the reservation; we had opted on thanking the wolves in private, since I was still feeling guilty for lying. Edward came along partly because he had always wanted to see the reservation in person but mostly because he simply denied leaving my side.

I knocked on Jacob's door and we took a step backwards waiting for a response; Billy was the one to open the door. His eyes widened in surprise when we greeted him.

"So, a goddess huh?" He asked.

"Yup." I stated not knowing what else to say.

"And a princess?"

"Don't remind me." I sighed as Edward laughed gaining a grin from Billy. "Is Jacob around?" I asked noticing I couldn't hear his heartbeat in the house. As a matter of fact I could only hear a bunch of levitated heartbeats somewhere west from Jacob's house along with a single human heart.

"Nah, kid's at Emily's place. Just around the corner; he's there along with the whole pack." He said and pointed towards the direction of the heartbeats.

"Emily?" I asked remembering the name in Sam's thoughts. "Sam's imprint?" Billy looked at me surprised.

"You really are a goddess aren't you?" He asked in wonder. In response I simply allowed my eyes to shine golden instead of the brown I used to conceal my identity. He chuckled and we waved him goodbye. Emily's house turned out to be quite isolated so, ensuring the only ones in the area were the wolves and Emily let our normal shine on and walked towards the house; we heard laughter from inside that stopped as they caught our scent and Edward knocked the door. Jacob was the one to answer.

"I hope we're not interrupting anything." I said as Jacob moved over to let us in.

"No we just finished eating. Come in." We moved inside the house making them all a little startled with how we looked.

"Oh come on guys! I'm still the same Bella that made you dinner last week remember?" I asked smiling, relaxing them a little.

"And I'm still the guy you wanted to hunt down and burn to pieces." Edward added joyfully. "But I rather you would forget that." He added causing them to laugh, breaking the ice for good. I silently thanked him as the woman who I guessed was Emily moved to greet us; she was slim, tall and beautiful if you excepted the scars on her face; scars that seemed very much like werewolf claw marks.

"Nice to finally meet you." She said looking appreciatively at Edward. Something told me I would never get used to that even after a thousand years. "I'm Emily."

"I'm Bella and that's Edward." I said trying to keep my possessive feelings over my fiancée at bay. That was when Leah noticed the ring on my finger.

"You're getting married?" She asked in shock. I nodded yes and Edward simply smiled.

"Didn't lose any time did you?" Sam said congratulating Edward.

"I don't believe you can blame me for hurrying." He responded chuckling lightly, his velvet voice putting a smile even on Leah's and Jacob's faces.

"Believe me Edward, none of us is." Embry said laughing too.

"And especially not me." Sam added pulling Emily in for a hug, kissing her scars adoringly. I could feel the love shinning through them although it was somewhat tainted from an underlining wave of guilt from Sam; with a start I made the connection. Sam was the one responsible for Emily's scars. Suddenly, an idea was born in my head. I turned towards the table and saw a knife; I grasped it faintly noticing everybody was staring at me.

"Love what are you doing?" Edward asked bewildered.

"_Have I ever told you our blood has healing properties?"_ I asked Edward through our connection. _"I understand we can't use it all the time, but everyone here already knows what we are. Plus, I owe it to Sam."_ Edward looked confused for a second until he made the connection too. Then he smiled encouragingly as I lifted the knife. I somehow knew exactly what to do as I tightened my grasp on the knife and cut a thin line on my left hand. I heard everyone gasp as the shinny gold liquid that was my blood oozed and pooled in my palm.

"Bella what are you doing? I thought you couldn't get hurt!" Jacob exclaimed as everybody gasped.

"I can't." I answered cryptically as I moved towards Emily. "Trust me." I simply said and, on pure instinct, touched her scarred cheek with my palm. The moment I moved away, the blood that was left in my palm withdrew back in my hand on its own and the wound disappeared as if it was never there. Instantly I felt that spot was indestructible once more.

At the same time the blood I had left on Emily's cheek started concentrating over her scars, shining slightly white. Then a thick white smoke started emitting from the scars and a strong scent of flowers, my scent, spread in the room. I noticed that the knife with which I had cut my hand, and as a result had some blood on it too, was also covered in smoke as my blood seemed to evaporate. When the smoke dispersed another round of gasps echoed in the small room. Emily's face was left beautiful and unmarred like it was before she was injured.

She lifted her hand to touch her cheek and, once she did, tears flowed down her eyes. She looked at me unable to speak, but went to hug me nonetheless. Sam was next in line.

"Thank you." He simply said, unable to find better words. And, in all truth, he didn't need to.

"How can I ever thank you enough?" Emily asked between sobs.

"I believe you just did." I said smiling at her. "Besides, that's what friends are for." I added repeating Jacob's words from last night. Suddenly Seth applauded and was soon followed by everyone else, including Edward. I blushed furiously as he came to hug me.

"Have I told you I love you lately?" He asked teasingly.

"I believe it was mentioned." I answered in the same tone.

"That's not good enough!" He declared with fervor. "I believe I'll just have to tell you again; I love you." And he kissed me. I was fairly aware of the wolf whistles around but I didn't pay much attention. Half an hour lately we were ready to go. We wave goodbye and moved outside the house, Jacob accompanying us. We walked together for a while until we reached the forest line. I turned to hug Jacob goodbye and then I saw it;

_A beautiful young woman, not more than eighteen years old, was standing beside a small crystal lake I had never seen before, surrounded by woods. She was almost as tall as me and was wearing a white summer dress that flowed around her in the slight breeze; I could tell she was a goddess from the white and gold light surrounding her._

_Then I started noticing different things; for example her long hair was bronze colored, the same shade as Edward's. And in a few seconds, when she opened her up to then closed eyelids, I saw golden eyes, my golden eyes, shining on her face. And then I saw my nose and lips and cheekbones on that woman's face; and then I knew._

_Before I managed to say something she smiled my way. I tried to move forward but stopped when a man passed me by. He was really tall and built, with dark skin and, quite obviously, a god. His golden eyes looked at the woman adoringly before he lifted a hand to caress her face; I almost didn't realize I was looking at Jacob._

The vision faded and I was left in shock turning to Edward who was equally frozen in place, staring at me with wide eyes. Now that was unexpected. Jacob was left staring at us worried.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked when a minute elapsed and we hadn't uttered a word. Somehow I found my voice again.

"No, nothing is wrong Jacob." I muttered looking at him dazed. "Just a vision of the future."

"Well okay." Jacob said, probably thinking we looked like that after every vision. "I should be going; see you around!" And with that he turned and left, leaving us behind to stare his retreating form.

"Let's go to our meadow." I stated mechanically and Edward nodded numbly; we ran as fast as we could and reached the meadow in record time. The yellow grass was still the same as it was a little over a week ago but I didn't notice. I just plopped myself unceremoniously on the ground dragging Edward with me. A few minutes passed in silence as we were lost in our thoughts. Edward spoke first.

"Do you think that the woman was…"  
"Our daughter?" I finished his sentence for him. "Yes, I believe she was." Suddenly, in a flurry of movements he turned at me frantic.

"Bella are you…?" he seemed unable to finish his question but I smiled reassuringly.

"As a matter of fact I'm sure I'm not." He just kept staring at me; I explained. "Last night I spoke with my mother and asked her about that. She had once told me she and my father had decided to have a child only eighteen years ago and I was curious how that hadn't already happened in the past since, well, since birth control wasn't that evolved back then. She said it works somehow like our powers; first of all no goddess can have a child unless she has found her soul mate and no god can father a child unless he has found his. And even after that they only have a child when their ready and have consciously chosen to have one." I waited until he comprehended what I had said.

"So that vision might come from anytime in the future?" He asked.

"Yes."

"So, our daughter and Jacob?" He asked his eyes widening.

"I admit it will be weird." I said pondering the whole situation. "But you must acknowledge she could do far, way far, worse. And besides, we won't really have a saying on the matter." I reminded him. We fell into silence for a few more minutes.

"A daughter." He finally said reverently pulling me in his arms. "I had never thought about it, after all those years as a vampire but now… Wow." He added chuckling in utter bliss as I joined him. I knew I wasn't ready for a child just yet but the prospect of a family with Edward just didn't seem as intimidating as I thought it would. We spent that night in our meadow.

Next morning came faster than I would have wanted, but I rejoiced in seeing my parents. We had agreed not to share our vision with anyone so the morning passed in perfect family harmony with the notable exception of Alice who had bought a tone of new wedding magazines and jumped around with giddiness in every new dress she liked.

Sometime in the afternoon my parents decided to start spreading the rumor of their return around; with that purpose they left till nightfall. Edward and I retreated at my house. It was around four that my phone rang; surprisingly it was Angela. There was some kind of party at Tyler's and she said I was invited. I said I wasn't sure I was going to make it and after some pleading, we hung up.

"You know love, I actually think we should both go." I stared at him in disbelief; had he just said what I think he did? "No, really, I do. It will save us a lot of surprised stares and gossip tomorrow at school." Right; school. There was that too.

"I don't know; they're bound to gossip once they found out we're engaged." That and I didn't want Edward near those crazed girls from school.

"Still, they will have a warning. Besides, I want those deranged boys from school to know we're engaged." He sounded terribly possessive and to boot that he pulled me closer, which was quite an achievement on its own. I laughed at his antics.

"Really Edward, there's no comparison. And I love you." I stated and turned to kiss him; still the idea of letting every girl in town know he was mine was quite appealing. Before I knew it he had flown back to his house to find something to wear as I was searching my closet for a dress Angela has persuaded me into buying. I bought it believing I would never wear it, but it was perfect for what I needed it. I heard Edward flying through the window as I finished styling my hair. I stood out from the bathroom to welcome him back only to find myself staring;

He was wearing black pants and a white shirt paired with a black vest and a black jacket. His shirt's top two buttons were undone and I suddenly felt the urge to take the whole thing off him. The party could wait. He was the one to break the silence first.

"You look..." He started and walked to me like a man in a dream. "You look just… perfect, breathtaking, divine… beautiful." He whispered between kisses. His hands roamed downwards over my black dress; it was really fitting and made out mostly of lace, made in a way that, even though covered my body, allowed some cleavage and my waist to show clearly through the black lace. I had done my hair up leaving a few strands of long silky hair fanning my face. I had no jewelry on but my ring. "I will have to fight your admirers off all night." He said placing his forehead on mine.

"At least it will keep you occupied while I'll be busy chasing your fan club away." I said sighing. He chucked and took my hand. That was when I noticed he had brought a small suitcase with him. I looked at him questioningly and he shrugged his shoulders saying;

"I spent so much time here I figured I should have some of my clothes with me just in case something, like this party, shows up. Plus it would save me the morning trip back to my house before school" I smiled and kissed him again as we made our way towards the garage.

We reached the party fifteen minutes later and forced everybody to silence the moment we walked in. Pretending not to notice, I neared Angela and greeted her, Edward doing the same. I was right in my estimation that I would have to fend off angry fan girls all night and Edward was right in his estimation that he would have to keep my so called admirers at bay.

Lauren and Jessica seemed to try to take Edward from my side as, now that he was spared the temptation of human blood, was more talkative, even if still somehow distant. That of course only worked as magnet for more girls to gather around him. It took all my strength to convince myself mass murder was indeed a bad thing.

The news of our engagement hit them like a bomb shell and my ring was openly stared at. We left the party sooner that most of the guests, inwardly laughing at their faces as we made our exit. If anyone had told me a year ago, I would have never believed gossip would leave me so much uninterested. I even found it amusing now that Edward was here.

We reached my house around twelve and hastily made our way towards my room. A part of my mind wondered at everything the future had in store for us. There was going to be a wedding in the future, two to be exact, my family happy and whole at last, my friends and somewhere in the future a daughter and so many other things, small or big, still unknown to me. But most importantly there would be me and Edward, finally together with nothing clouding over us. And as we kissed I knew that was all I wanted, all I needed. Now and forever.

-The End-


End file.
